Reshape the Past
by Eneko95
Summary: Just another literature Nuzlocke of Pokemon FireRed...or is it? Rated for violence, death, scattered language. Rules are on my profile
1. Chapter 1

Almost sixteen years ago…

"NATALIA, Stephen, are you sure you want to do this? You're aware of the restrictions?"

"Yes. I want to finish what I started, and do it right."

"And I'm sick of being a ghost."

"So be it. Go back down to Earth and make us proud."

Chapter 1

October 20, 2011

_Today's the day!_ newbie trainer-to-be Natalia thought, withdrawing her only Potion from her PC. _I can't wait to get my journey started!_ The fifteen-year-old certainly looked the part—white straw hat, blue top with matching leg warmers/socks, red skort, tan Bag, and plain white sneakers. The only thing out of place was the chain for her MedAlert dog tag. _Oh, well, c'est la vie._ She brushed her long brown hair out of her face, popped an insulin pill in her mouth, and went downstairs for lunch.

"Just in time, dear," her mom smiled, placing a plate with steaming hot and tasty-smelling pizza slices on the table. "I made your favorite—three-cheese pizza!"

Natalia could feel her grin spread across her face. "Yummy! Thanks, Mom!" She sat down, grabbed one, and dug in, ignoring the fact that her mouth was being slightly seared.

"Do you have everything you need?" her mom asked. Natalia nodded. "Always have, always will." She reached for another slice. "Plus, I know exactly where I need to go! Not hard in this tiny town." "Don't talk with your mouth full," her mom chided gently.

Three more slices (counting the one she'd just reached for), some water, and a blood sugar test later, Natalia was ready to go. "Bye, Mom! I promise to be careful!" she called, heading out the door. "Good luck, and don't forget to call home!" her mom answered.

Pallet Town was like any other small town, except for Professor Oak's lab, a big yellow-brick structure just across from Gary's house. She popped into the lab long enough to learn that Oak wasn't around, then headed north to Route 1. When she was within a step of the tall grass…

"Natalia, wait! Don't go out!" Professor Oak called. _Waa! How'd he get here so fast?_ she thought, turning to face him. "It's not safe without a Pokémon of your own. Here, come with me." He led her away from the Route to his lab, stopping only when he was right next to a table with three Poké Balls on it (and Gary, too).

"About time, Gramps," Gary said. "I'm sick of waiting!" "Be patient, Gary. Natalia's never seen this before, so I'll talk to her first," the Professor said. Then he turned to Natalia: "See these three Poké Balls? Each of them contains a Pokémon I offer new trainers! Go on, pick one!" "Hey, no fair! I want one too!" Gary complained. "You'll get your turn," Oak assured him. Gary grumbled something noncommittal.

Natalia picked up the one on the left first. "Ah, Bulbasaur," Oak commented. "It's easy to raise, and a Grass-Poison type. Is that your choice?" "I'll look at the others first," she replied, already moving on to the middle one. "That's Squirtle," Oak said. "A bulky Water-type that's well worth raising." Last, she held the one on the right.

"Hm! Charmander, the Fire-type. It's very popular, but requires patience, so not everyone's up to the challenge." Natalia thought it over for a moment, and then put Charmander's Ball inside her bag. "Charmander's my choice, Professor," she said.

"Excellent! While we're at it, do you want to give him a nickname?" "Yep, Flint," she replied. Professor Oak nodded approvingly. Neither of them was overly surprised when Gary picked Squirtle (Juan). He seemed obsessed with beating Natalia at anything and everything.

"Hey, Natalia! Let's see how good they are! Come on out, Juan!" Gary called. He then tossed Juan's Poké Ball into the air. The Squirtle emerged as an oval of white light from which a curly tail and four chubby limbs sprang. "Squirtle squirt!" he cheered, big red eyes shining. The Ball landed back in Gary's hand with an audible "smack."

"OK…Flint, I choose you!" Natalia said, tossing hers at Gary. Her new Pokémon burst from the Ball in a flash of white light. "Char char!"

Professor Oak facepalmed. "Oh, for Pete's sake…Natalia, have you ever been in a battle before?" "No, but I think I'll be OK," she said, somehow catching the returning Ball. "Flint, Scratch!" And the battle was on! Of course, both starters being only level five, it wound up more like a Tackle/Scratch war with the occasional Growl or Leer thrown in. She wound up using her Potion to heal Flint when another Tackle would have defeated him. Eventually, though, Natalia won and Flint leveled up.

"What? This is nuts! I got beat by a beginner!" Gary griped, handing her 80 Poké. "Meh, I'll just battle a lot and get Juan tougher. Smell ya later!" The boy walked self-importantly out of the lab. Shrugging, Natalia and Flint headed to Route 1. They couldn't catch any new Pokémon yet, but neither minded—more experience! On the way up to Viridian City, they talked to a Poké Mart clerk, who graciously gave them a Potion.

Then Natalia got an idea. _I want to remember exactly how it felt to start my journey when I'm older, and how better to do that than take photos? _She took her camera out of her Bag and snapped a photo of Flint, then of herself. "Char?" Flint asked.

"My camera," Natalia stated. "I'll be taking a lot of pictures as I travel, so get used to the sound."

Viridian City reminded her just a little bit of Pallet Town, what with the clear lake (in which she could see her reflection) and the flowers everywhere. She healed Flint and visited the Viridian Trainer School, which was surprisingly empty—just one student and a teacher. "Um, where's everyone else?" she asked. "Field trip to the Indigo Plateau," the girl said without looking up from her notes. "Our school's pretty small anyway." Without another word, Natalia absorbed the information on the blackboard (status conditions) and in the girl's notes (training for dummies), then left.

The minute she entered the Poké Mart, the clerk called to her: "Hey, you're from Pallet Town?" "How'd you guess?" she replied teasingly, walking to the counter.

"…I'm not gonna answer that. Listen, Prof. Oak's order came in, and I need you to deliver it to him. OK?" "Leave it to me!" she smiled. Interestingly, on the way back to Pallet Town, she didn't find a single wild Pokémon. Partly because she'd avoided as much grass as possible, true, but it was strange nonetheless.

Back in the lab, no sooner had Natalia delivered Oak's parcel (a custom Poké Ball) than Gary showed up. "Almost forgot, Gramps. What'd you call me for?"

"I have a favor to ask of you both. See those red machines on the table behind me?" he asked. "They're two copies of my invention, the Pokédex. It automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught. I want the two of you to take this with you and fill it up with all the data you possibly can! I'd do it myself, but there aren't a lot of places an old man like me can go safely." He handed them each a Pokédex. Natalia flipped it open, and a thin plastic ID card slid down to the ground. "Oh, yes, I put your Trainer Cards in there for safekeeping," Oak added as an afterthought. "Don't lose them!"

"*beep* Thank you for choosing Kanto Pokédex Version 2.0.1, trainer Natalia of Pallet Town," a mechanical voice said. _How does it know that? _"You have currently seen four Pokémon—Charmander, Squirtle, Pidgey, and Rattata—and currently own one, Charmander. Would you like to customize my appearance?" Natalia hit "No", and slipped her Trainer Card into her wallet.

"Just seeing a Pokémon won't give you all the data," Oak informed them. "You have to capture it, so here are five Poké Balls to help you with that!" Natalia placed the shiny red-and-white capsules in the third pocket of her bag.

"Leave it to me, Gramps!" Gary bragged. "Natalia, I hate to say it, but you won't be needed for this. Smell ya later!" He sauntered out of the lab again.

On a whim, Natalia visited Gary's house. His big sister, Daisy, was perusing a Town Map. "Hi, Daisy," Natalia said. "Professor Oak wants me to—" "I heard all about it from Gary," Daisy interrupted. "Here, I have an extra Town Map. You'll need it." Gratefully, Natalia folded up the map and put it in the Key Items pocket. "Thanks!" She made a quick stop at her house to pick up certain medical supplies (read: insulin), then headed out to Route 1.

She spotted movement in the grass and, without even thinking, threw Flint's Ball at…a level four female Rattata. "…OK," she said (she'd wanted a Pidgey). "Flint, Scratch, but be careful!" Three Scratches later, Rattata looked weak enough to capture.

"Here goes," murmured Natalia, selecting a Poké Ball. "Poké Ball, go!" When the Ball hit Rattata, it opened, covered her in red light, then absorbed it and fell to the ground. Wobble. Wobble. Wobble. Click. Rattata hadn't put up a fight. "Congratulations!" her Pokédex beeped. "Please hold the Poké Ball near the camera so I can record its data." Natalia did so, then snapped a picture of her own.

"*beep* Rattata, the Mouse Pokémon. Its fangs are long and very sharp. They grow constantly, so it gnaws on hard things to whittle them down. Give Rattata a nickname? Yes/No" Selecting "Yes," Natalia was presented with a keyboard. It took only a second for her to type in "Jo." _And while I'm at it, I'll call you Dex, _she added silently; the machine sounded male, and somehow "Dexter" seemed overdone_._ She checked Jo's statistics: Modest nature, ability Guts, max HP 17, Speed 10, and everything else 8. She only had one encounter—another Rattata—before reaching Viridian City.

Her team wasn't in perfect shape, so the first thing she did was heal at the Pokémon Center. Then she changed Dex's message frames to a bold, fiery red (from default gray). "And now, for supplies," she said to no one in particular. She wound up spending 1900 Poké for three Potions, as many "Parlyz Heals", and four Antidotes. Heading west from the city, she picked up a stray Potion behind a small bush. She couldn't say why she picked that particular shortcut, other than that it seemed like a good idea.

It didn't take much exploring on Route 22 before she found another Pokémon. This one was a small bird like Pidgey, but more angular and darker colored. "Spear spearow!" it chirped, eyeing her. "You're up, Jo!" Natalia called. "Tackle attack!" This battle went less smoothly, and less happened—Spearow growled a few times, and its Peck almost defeated her. It took a little doing (and some help from Flint), but Spearow was hers eventually.

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon," Dex chimed. "It flits about here and there. Even if it's frail, it can be a tough foe that uses Mirror Move. Give Spearow a nickname?" "Lucy," Natalia typed (Spearow was female). She headed back to Viridian, healed, and called it a night.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Natalia headed back out to Route 22 for training. It took three wild Pokémon to find one she actually wanted—a Mankey. "Third time's the charm…Jo, get out there!" She immediately had second thoughts about her decision—if Mankey knew Low Kick, Jo wouldn't even last one turn. "Uh, now that I think about it, return," she hedged. Jo tilted her head in confusion before being recalled. "Go, Lucy!" The Spearow preened a little and eyed the Mankey. Mankey leaped in and scratched Lucy's wing. "Peck!" Lucy dived at Mankey with a vengeance, almost defeating it. It glared at her— its Leer. "Nice shot," Natalia smiled. "Now, Poké Ball, go!" Mankey didn't even struggle, but it had a good reason—another hit would've defeated it. Natalia held the Poké Ball up to Dex's camera.

"Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokémon. Light and agile on its feet, and ferocious in temperament. When angered, it flies into an uncontrollable frenzy," Dex beeped. Because the Mankey was a girl, Natalia had trouble coming up with a good nickname. Eventually, she decided on "Gina". Checking her stats (and Lucy's, as an afterthought), she learned their abilities (Vital Spirit and Keen Eye), top stats (HP), and that Gina didn't know Low Kick after all.

After healing, she set out to get on with her training and explore the rest of the route. She gave particular attention to Gina and Jo, as they were only level four. All she found on Route 22 were more Rattata and Mankey, though, so she made a detour to Route 1. That was much more successful because she got a Pidgey—a level three Pidgey, but a Pidgey nonetheless. She dubbed him Cody, because that seemed like a good name for a small bird. Then, in Viridian City, she bought two Poké Balls and two Potions. _I need more money,_ she thought. Her eyes fell on the Viridian City Gym. She grinned—Gyms meant trainers, trainers meant (possible) victory, and victory meant prize money.

On her way there, an old man insisted on showing her how to catch Pokémon and giving her an old TV. The viewing options were limited, and she knew most of what it had to say, but she politely accepted the gift and was on her way.

The Gym doors, bizarrely, were locked. "It's been locked ever since I can remember," a different but inexplicably identical old man informed her. "I wonder who the Leader is…" Deterred but no less motivated, she healed and ventured northward.

Route 2 passed without incident—there weren't even any trainers. Viridian Forest, however, looked complex. _Perfect for training,_ Natalia thought. Even better, a young boy told her that all his bug-catching friends were somewhere in the forest, waiting for battles. Of the three paths available to her, she took the one going left, and headed into a big clump of long grass (ignoring the one just above her).

That was where she found a level four Caterpie. Cody didn't take damage because it kept using String Shot, so that made the capture easier. Natalia barely absorbed Dex's information, skipping right to the keyboard and entering the name "Julian". Rather than make the long trek back to Viridian City to heal her whole team in one fell swoop, she simply healed Julian with a Potion. Heading north, she realized she was somewhat lost, especially when a wild Weedle poisoned Jo. Jo managed to beat him and grow to level five, though, so it was all good.

_Suddenly, this place isn't perfect anymore, _Natalia thought. Yes, there were plenty of wild Pokémon around the levels of her team (and some stray items), but all the pathways looked annoyingly similar. Plus, the wild Caterpie liked using String Shot (though against one of them, Flint grew a level and learned Ember, which would make the trip easier). And on the rightward path…

"Hey! You've got Pokémon! Come on!" a bug catcher called out. He sent out his Weedle. "All right! Cody, I choose you!" Natalia cheered. Cody was two levels below Weedle, but that didn't stop her. Nor did it stop Weedle, who poisoned Cody after only two tries. She briefly switched in Julian, then Lucy, who defeated Weedle in one swift Peck. "Nice job, Weedle," the kid said, recalling the larva. "Caterpie!" This fight was even shorter—two Pecks from Lucy, and the green bug was down and Lucy, level six. "Aw, no! Caterpie can't hack it!" he pouted.

"You did well…uh, sorry, I didn't get your name," Natalia smiled. "Rick," he said, handing her 72 Poké. "We'll talk later; you might scare the bugs away." After curing Cody's poison and rearranging her team so Gina, who needed the most experience, was in front (also taking a picture of her newly-full team), Natalia called it a day.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yo! You can't jam out if you're a Pokémon trainer!" a different yet weirdly identical bug catcher cried. "What? What are you talking about, kid?" Natalia asked, hand on Gina's Poké Ball.

"First of all, my name's Doug, and second, let's battle!" he answered. _I still don't know what he means, but OK, _Natalia thought. "Weedle, I choose you!" "Gina, go!" She checked Dex's Battle Monitor, and saw that Doug's Weedle was level seven. _Huh. Pretty sure it should've evolved by now…_

"Poison Sting!" Gina had been injured from earlier fights, so the damage—all three points of it—was a bit more worrying. Scratch didn't do much either. "Gina, return," Natalia said. She picked Flint's ball from the end of her belt and threw it. Doug blinked when he saw the Charmander emerge. "Weedle, String Shot!" Fine silk shot from Weedle's mouth and wrapped around Flint's limbs.

Natalia smirked. "Flint, let's try out your Ember!" Flint nodded, but Weedle got him right in the gut with its horn before he could. "Flint is now poisoned," Dex beeped. Flint opened his mouth and shot a series of small flames at his opponent. "It's super effective! Nicely done!" Weedle collapsed. "Dang it," Doug muttered. "Other Weedle!" This one met the same fate as his first, though Flint was getting tired by now (and level eight).

"Flint, return," Natalia said. "Char," Flint commented before dissolving into red light. "Lucy, I choose you!" she called.

"Kakuna, you're up!" Doug replied, looking nervous. Lucy twittered when she saw her opponent. "Peck!" This one almost took Kakuna out in one hit. "A critical hit _and _super effective!" Dex beeped. "Kakuna, Harden." The yellow cocoon/chrysalis/whatever closed its eyes and suddenly appeared stiffer and shinier.

"One more time, Lucy!" She expertly flew in and upended the Kakuna with her beak. "Lucy grew to level seven and learned Leer!" Dex informed her. "Ran out of Pokémon," Doug griped, handing her 84 Poké. She cured Flint and restored his and Gina's health, leaving her with a Potion, an Antidote, and those Parlyz Heals. A bit farther down the path, she picked up an extra Antidote. _I hope I can get through the forest soon._

She avoided another one (God, the forest was full of bug catchers!) by taking a shortcut that was mostly long grass. In the middle of the path it intersected (also very grassy), a level three Weedle jumped out at her. Or, well, tried to: you know what I mean. "Get it, Gina!" Two Scratches later, Weedle was hers.

"*beep* Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon," Dex stated. "Often found in forests and grasslands. It has a sharp, toxic barb of around two inches in its head. Give Weedle a nickname?" She decided on the somewhat random name "Carla." "Initiating transfer to PC storage network," the machine informed her. Carla's Poké Ball glowed white, then simply vanished. "*beep* Transfer complete. Carla was placed in Box 1. You can access your stored Pokémon from any PC. Use your Trainer ID as the passcode." _Oh, right, you can only have six Pokémon with you at a time, _Natalia remembered.

The path she was on was refreshingly simple—no side paths, and a predictable curve. At the top of it, she noticed _yet another_ bug catcher staring intently at a tree. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "What's so interesting about the tree?" she asked.

"No idea. I'm Charlie, let's battle!" This fight was unremarkable once she sent in Flint—his two Metapod only appeared to know Harden, and his Caterpie was just too easy. At the end of the fight, Flint was level ten and feeling great! Natalia headed down the path, then…

"Pika pi?" A Pikachu was staring at her. She knew they were really rare in this area and in general, but having an Electric-type wouldn't help against the first Gym [a/n: because everyone and their mother knows that the first gym almost always uses Rock/Ground-types]. Regretfully, she patted the yellow mouse on the head and walked away.

The part of the curving path she was currently on branched off ever so slightly, into a square glade with flowers and a Potion. "I wonder how these items get here," Natalia mused aloud, placing the purple squirt bottle in her bag. "The sign says to watch out for dropped items, but who in their right mind would drop medicine?"

She headed on up what she hoped was the last part of the path. On the way up, the umpteenth bug catcher intercepted her. He only had a Weedle, but it was level nine, so she wasn't sure whether to be worried or not. The fight went much the same as the others had, except that Flint didn't save the day this time; Lucy did, even though she got poisoned.

Natalia cured Lucy, then walked onward and saw a gatehouse. To her great delight, this meant that she was indeed at the last part of the path. "I am never going there again without very good reason," she vowed, stepping into the gatehouse. It was that exact moment that Julian decided to emerge. "Hey, you're not supposed to do that," she chided. He blinked, and rammed into her left ankle.

"Ow! Point made. It must get stuffy in there anyway." Julian wriggled with delight. She talked to everyone, and learned two new things—you could stop a Pokémon's evolution, and those skinny trees on the side of the road could be cut down with a special Pokémon move.

The other part of Route 2 didn't fare well at all. She had an EXTREMELY ANNOYING battle with a level five Weedle who poisoned both Flint and Cody, and got Jo to 1 HP! Flint beat her in the end, though (and Julian grew to level five). The more pressing problem was that she was running low on supplies—only one Antidote and two Potions left. She cured Flint's poison, healed Jo, and gave Cody her last Potion so he could last until they reached Pewter City. The three Parlyz Heals from Viridian City sat innocuously in her bag, mocking her. "Damn it," she swore.

Fortunately, she made it to the Pokémon Center with Cody still in the green zone (Dex color-coded her Pokémon's HP levels. Green meant healthy, yellow meant at or below half health, and red meant critical). "Welcome to the Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy smiled. "I'll take your team for a few moments…" She detached her party members and handed them one by one to Nurse Joy. With a practiced grace, Joy placed them all on a big white machine and pushed a button.

Instantly, a warm yellow glow suffused her Poké Balls, and the monitor behind Joy displayed all the data screens for her team, in order, very quickly. Various health bars shot up, Cody's poison icon vanished, and a bunch of other numbers increased too. "All right, your Pokémon are back to perfect health," Joy said, passing Natalia's team to her with a bow/curtsy. "We hope to see you again!" Natalia didn't bother asking who "we" was.

Then a beautiful, soothing song wafted through the Center. "_Jigglypuff, jigglypuff. Jigglypuff, jiggly…"_ it went. Natalia just wanted to curl up and take a nap right there on the floor. The song ended after Natalia had gotten halfway there (curled up, but not asleep, somehow). She sat up and applauded, because that seemed right. "Puff? Jigglypuff, jig jiggly!" the Jigglypuff singer cried out. Its blue eyes were wide with adoration and respect. It wasn't every day that someone listened to Jigglypuff's song and didn't get their face scribbled on, after all.

"Impressive!" everyone in the Pokémon Center said at once. "I heard somewhere that the sound waves of Jigglypuff's song match the brainwaves of someone in deep sleep," a kid near a glass-top table commented. "You must be, like, part Jigglypuff to not be on the floor right now!"

"Well, I'm not. Now, if you'll excuse me…" And she dashed out of the Pewter City Pokémon Center.

Visiting the Poké Mart, she found that Pewter City stocked all kinds of medicine, plus Escape Ropes and Repels. "What's a Repel?" Natalia asked. "It's a spray that keeps wild Pokémon away," the clerk said. "This green one lasts for a hundred steps." She sold her Parlyz Heals and bought two Potions and two Antidotes. With desperately low funds, she left town for yet more training.

She alternated between the second part of Route 2 and Viridian Forest every so often, healing as needed. She justified going into Viridian Forest (which was as annoying as ever, even though she stayed near the gatehouse) because getting more varied training in and hopefully finding a Pikachu were indeed very good reasons. On one of her sojourns into the forest, she beat that kid she'd avoided. Also, the local Weedle seemed to be stalking her.

The end result of training was that Gina, Julian, and Jo each leveled up, and Gina learned Low Kick. Feeling brave, Natalia entered the Pewter City Gym, located right below the Museum of Science.


	4. Chapter 4

"Fight me first, _chica_," the camper smirked. "I'm Liam, and you're ten thousand light-years from facing Brock!"

"I'm going to ignore your gross misuse of the phrase 'light-year'," Natalia commented dryly. "Gina, let's see what you can do!" Surprisingly, Gina took down Liam's level 10 Geodude in just two or three Low Kicks.

"Sandshrew, go!" Liam shouted. An unfamiliar (but quite cute) mouse-like Pokémon with dull yellowish-brown scales emerged. "Shrew," it squeaked. "Gina, Scratch!" The Pig Monkey leapt in there and scratched her hardest, but to little avail.

Liam smirked. "Sandshrew, return the favor." Sandshrew nodded, then swiped Gina across the face with its sharp claws, sending her flying. "Gina!" Natalia cried. Gina stood up, hurt but ready to go on. "Return," Natalia said. "Playtime, Flint!"

"Defense Curl," Liam ordered. Sandshrew ducked its head in between its arms and curled its tail up around its legs. "OK, Flint, Ember!" The Charmander looked at her. "Come on, trust me." He shrugged, then spat little pellets of fire at his opponent. He finished it the same way, despite Sandshrew digging up a little cloud of dirt—Sand-Attack. Gina and Flint grew a level, but Gina's Defense was pretty bad compared to everything else. "Dang it! I just remembered that light-years measure distance, not time!" Liam griped, handing over a sizable 220 Poké.

"Good work, Flint," Natalia smiled. "Return." Flint smiled back at her before disappearing into the Ball. She rearranged her team so Julian was once again following her. "Tomorrow, we'll train some more, OK? Who knows, maybe you'll even evolve!" "Cater cat!" Julian squeaked. She headed back to the Center, healed, and rented a room upstairs.

She detached her belt and set it near her bag and shoes. "Look the other way for a second, Julian," she said. He thoughtfully closed the door as well, allowing her to change into Staryu-print pajamas with no awkwardness. "OK, you can look now." Julian barely blinked at her new attire. She dropped her hat over her bag/shoes and climbed into bed. "See you tomorrow, Julian." "Pie," he replied, already curling up into a little ball.

The next morning, after breakfast, she brought out her whole team. "OK, guys, we'll be doing the same thing we did yesterday. I might buy supplies or visit the Museum, but that's the basic plan. Are we cool?" Everyone nodded. "Then let's go!"

Before setting out, however, she explored the city. In the Poké Mart, a kid warned her not to trust any old guy who offered to sell her a Pokémon for 500 Poké, because she'd get a weird, useless fish Pokémon. "And I should know; I was dumb enough to buy one!" he pouted. "Is that legal?" Natalia asked, concerned. "It shouldn't be," he said darkly.

Visiting a house near the Museum, she observed a small child attempting to train the family's Nidoran male. A check of her Pokédex told her that the Nidoran was level 13. "Our Pokémon came from a friend. It grows fast, but it ignores most things we say," the father sheepishly explained. "If only one of us had some Badges…" Natalia nodded. "I see. Good luck!"

Training had mixed results. Cody grew a level, but he got poisoned in the forest when he was near half health. She made her way to Pewter City as fast as she could, but when she was in sight of the Pokémon Center… "Cody is at zero health," Dex beeped. "I'm sorry." Then the machine started playing Taps. Natalia blinked numbly, and Julian squeaked something. _Cody…_ She walked to a clearing near the Pokémon Center and sent out Flint.

"Flint…Cody's gone. Help me dig a hole," she murmured. It took a few tries, but they had a hole big enough for Cody's body soon enough. With shaking hands, she laid the little bird and his Poké Ball (signatures can't be rewritten) in the grave and covered him up. "Char, charmander," Flint said solemnly.

_Rest in peace, little Pidgey,_ Natalia thought. She recalled Flint, healed the rest of her team, and set off to finish what she'd started.

On another trip to Viridian Forest, she found a level five Kakuna right off the bat. She didn't have one, but she knew that it would be hard to train if it only knew Harden (which the wild Kakuna and Metapod seemed to know exclusively). So, she combined Julian, Lucy, and Jo's efforts to defeat it. "Jo grew to level seven and learned Quick Attack!" Dex beeped.

During the second battle (a Weedle), Jo got poisoned, but Julian grew a level and won. In the middle of his victory wriggle, he started glowing white. "Cat?" he asked no one in particular. The light engulfed him, and Natalia could only stare in awe as Julian changed.

When the light faded, Julian was completely different. He didn't even look like a Caterpie anymore. No, he now appeared to be a green shell with half-open eyes. "Meta," he commented. "Congratulations! Julian evolved into Metapod!" Dex beeped. "He can now use Harden! View stats?" Natalia selected "Yes" and saw that his defenses were better, but he was slower and couldn't attack as well. Also, his ability had changed to Shed Skin, which meant that he could cure his own status conditions. She then left the forest [a/n: don't ask how Julian can follow her, I don't know either XD] in order to heal up. En route, she gave Jo one of her only Potions so she could survive.

After healing and fighting a few more battles, she remembered something—_I never finished exploring Route 22! Adventure time!_ She made sure to buy a Potion beforehand. Which didn't even last ten minutes before Jo needed it to survive. She sent out her whole team once they'd been healed. "New plan; we're going to Route 22, 'cause I just remembered I never finished exploring it. If we see any Weedle, we will NOT attack them. I'm out of money and Antidotes, and I don't want anyone else to die from poison like Cody. OK?" Everyone's eyes widened when they heard about Cody, but they nodded.

Natalia's luck was in: the first thing she found in Viridian Forest was a (level three) Pikachu. "Oh YES! Julian, we're gonna catch ourselves an Electric mouse!" she cheered. "Tackle it!" Equally excited, Julian got a critical hit on the little guy. And when it let itself be captured after only one Poké Ball…Natalia's high-pitched squeal of delight could be heard clear out to Route 11. She didn't even look at Dex's information, skipping right to the keyboard and entering "Ethan." Even better, Pikachu didn't like Poké Balls, so she had an excuse to have Ethan follow her _all the time! _Mercifully, Viridian Forest passed without anything else terribly inconvenient happening.

"Ready to kick some bird butt, Ethan?" Natalia smiled once she'd healed her team (in Viridian). Ethan's cheeks buzzed with electricity. "Pika!" They headed west to check out Route 22…and found none other than Gary.

"Hey, Natalia! Headed for the Pokémon League?" he asked. "No, is it this way?" she replied. "Yeah, but forget about it," he stated flatly. "You probably don't have the Boulder Badge yet, do you? The guard won't let you in without them." "Speaking from experience?"

Gary flushed. "Shut up and fight me!" Amusingly, he still only had two Pokémon. At least his Pidgey, Alex, had the decency to be level nine. Ethan jumped in and gave Alex the evil eye. "Slow down there, Ethan," Natalia said. "Lucy, go!" Ethan turned his eye on her before moving so the Spearow wouldn't hit him.

Gary wasn't playing around—two Tackles from Alex got Lucy to seven health. "Come back. Flint, go get 'em!" Flint beat Alex easily enough with some Embers. "Not bad," Gary nodded. "Juan!"

"Gina!" While Juan was on the field, Gary made him use absolutely nothing but Tackle. This, at one point, got Jo (whom she'd switched in when Gina's Scratch wasn't working so well) to ONE HP. "Way to hang in there, Jo," Natalia smiled. "Now, Julian, finish him with Tackle!" Julian propelled himself over the ground and into Juan's body. The fight was over.

"Thanks for the workout, Gary." He nodded curtly, handing her 144 Poké.

"I heard the Pokémon League is jammed with tough trainers. I need to figure out how to get around them," he commented. "You, on the other hand, should go get that Boulder Badge already!" He raced back to Viridian City. She followed soon after to heal, but he was long gone by the time she got there.

The rest of Route 22 was calm—only one encounter, with a level 2 Mankey. Soon enough, she was standing before an imposing red building—the Pokémon League. Ethan tilted his head quizzically. "We're just going to look at the place. I swear," she assured him. It didn't matter much anyway—the lobby was barren, and the guard wouldn't let her through. "Back to Pewter City!"

Viridian Forest, blessedly, was devoid of problems. No one got poisoned or paralyzed (Pikachu had Static as their ability). And there were only two encounters, which was mixed. _My team is still so weak…_ Natalia thought nervously. _How do I know I'll be able to stand a chance against Brock?_ Just to make herself feel better about it, she deposited Ethan. "Sorry, little guy, but the Pokémon in Pewter Gym are immune to your Thundershock," she explained. "I'll get you back out when I win, I promise."


	5. Chapter 5

"I swear, wild Metapod are useless," Natalia thought aloud as Lucy pecked one into submission. Her new training goal was to get everyone to at least level ten so she had some sort of chance against Brock. That battle got Jo and Lucy to level eight. Flint was still the strongest member of her team at level eleven, and Julian weakest at level seven.

Training went interestingly. Julian almost died from poison (though he leveled up), but she made it to the Center just in time. "Training for Brock?" Nurse Joy asked. "Yeah, I heard he's pretty challenging," Natalia replied. "And to make things worse, I picked Charmander."

"Well, I have some advice," Joy smiled, healing her team. "First, Charmander learns Metal Claw, which is super effective on Rock Pokémon, at level 13. Second, when Metapod evolve into Butterfree at level 10, they automatically learn Confusion. Yours only needs two more levels! Third, Brock's Pokémon have great Defense, but their _Special_ Defense is awful in comparison; hit them with as many Special moves as you have PP for." The machine dinged. "Here you go, all happy and healthy. Good luck!"

Natalia only trained for a little longer before she realized that she was bored out of her skull. "I need a challenge!" she said. "And I'm sure you want one too, Julian." Unable to nod, Julian simply blinked. "…OK, then. Onward to Pewter Gym!"

Immediately after entering the Gym, she had second thoughts. Its Leader, Brock, was already battling a brown-haired boy in a red hat, and anyone could see who'd win. "Onix, finish it with Rock Tomb!" A giant snake made of rock tore up large pieces of the scenery and threw them at an oversized bee with two wicked-looking needles for front legs.

"Beedrill, the final evolution of Weedle," Dex beeped. "This one is male, and—ouch, that was painful!" The last comment came from registering exactly how much damage Rock Tomb had done to the Beedrill. "Dagger!" the boy cried, rushing to its side. "Bee…drill…" Dagger moaned.

"Thanks for the workout," Brock quipped. "Maybe next time you'll win, huh?" The boy said nothing, recalling his Beedrill and rushing out of the Gym. Natalia followed him, but only as far as the Center. He didn't notice her anyway, so it couldn't properly be called stalking.

On Route 2, she sent out her whole team. "New plan, guys," she said. "We're going to keep doing what we've been doing, with occasional visits to Route 22, until all of you are level 12. I just saw Brock wipe the floor with someone, and I don't want that to happen to you. OK?" Everyone nodded. "Then let's get started! And remember, when we go to Route 22, we don't attack the Weedle. Or, alternatively, beat them as fast as possible."

She wound up training them one at a time, with Lucy being first to level up. But fate was feeling spunky that day, and Jo—her first capture—literally died from poison at the Pewter Pokémon Center desk. Too shocked to speak, Natalia buried Jo near Cody, then curled up in a little ball. _Carla needs too much training…Ethan won't be any help…That's it, I'm screwed,_ she thought sadly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy in a red top (vest? jacket? she couldn't tell) walking towards her. At least, she thought she did—welled-up tears were messing with her vision. "You OK?" he asked. "I just lost my first captured Pokémon right at the desk, what do you think?" Natalia mumbled. She stubbornly brushed away a few tears.

The boy knelt down and put an arm around her. "I know how it feels," he said quietly. Natalia stiffened in surprise. "When I was fighting Dagger back in Viridian Forest, he poisoned Kate, my Rattata, after only two tries. I caught him with Fleur, my Bulbasaur, and then didn't stop running until I got to Viridian City. But…" He trailed off. _Dagger? Hmm, cool name. _Natalia turned to thank him, then saw the gray-eyed boy's hair and hat. It took just a few seconds to make the connection.

"I saw you fighting Brock! How's Dagger?" she blurted, then clapped her hands over her mouth. "Haha, Dagger's fine. He's tough for a bug. By the way, I'm Jason," he said, extending a hand. "I'm from Pallet Town, too. I started a whole day late, if you can believe that. I'm lucky Professor Oak had a starter left!" They both laughed, and she took his hand. _He's kind of cute,_ she realized. "Just in case we see each other again, can you tell me your name?" Jason asked, pulling her into a standing position. The movement sent light bouncing off his glasses.

"Natalia," she smiled. It felt good to smile. "Thanks, Jason." She wiped her face, brought Carla out of storage, and set out for Route 2 to train. That went rather well—Carla only got hit twice in the first session, and her Poison Sting poisoned every time. Somehow or other, it had gotten really late, so after healing, Natalia rented the same room and crashed there for the night.

The next day…

"Come on, Carla, you poisoned every single Pokémon we fought yesterday!" Natalia griped when Poison Sting failed to poison a Caterpie in Viridian Forest AGAIN. Carla blinked. "Sorry, I know it's a luck thing. I just want mine to be in," she explained. "Now, get it again!" Still no dice, but she did get a critical hit. "OK, return. Gina, go!" The Mankey gave her a disbelieving stare when she saw her opponent. "Trust me on this. Scratch!" The bug went down.

In a way, Natalia's luck was in; only Lucy got poisoned when they fought Weedle. Route 2 yielded better results as far as Carla poisoning was concerned, though in some ways, training there was more frustrating than training in Viridian Forest. _And now to Route 22, _Natalia thought. She quickly learned that almost all of the Pokémon in Viridian Forest had some form of immunity to getting poisoned from Carla: Caterpie had Shield Dust, Metapod had Shed Skin, and Weedle and Kakuna were, naturally, Poison-types. The only ones that didn't were the Pikachu, but they were so rare it wasn't worth trying.

When they actually got there, the first Pokémon they encountered was a level five Mankey. This particular one spammed Leer, and sometimes wound up being slower than _Julian._ Lucy beat it, and Julian finally grew to level nine! "Just one more level, Julian, Carla!" Natalia cheered. Training overall went well, and Natalia figured that she could get in the rest of her training by going back to Pewter City.

This idea had mixed results. Carla evolved into Kakuna before Natalia even set foot in Viridian Forest, but needed healing. Gina and Flint leveled up within the forest, but neither learned any new moves. "I'm feeling spunky, Carla," she said after healing her team in Pewter. "Wanna take on Gym Leader Brock?" Carla stared at her for a moment, and then nodded. Or, well, tried to: you know what I mean. "Alright, let's go! And _please_ try to poison one of his Pokémon."


	6. Chapter 6

"Welcome, challenger. I'm Brock, Pewter City's Gym Leader," he said. "My rock-hard willpower is evident even in my Pokémon. They're all rock-hard and…Oh, forget the bad rock puns. We both know why you're here." _I like him already,_ Natalia thought. "Show me what you've got! Geodude, go!" "Carla, I choose you!" Natalia cried.

He blinked (though how she could see that was beyond her). "Are you sure you've trained enough, miss?" "No, but I'm feeling bold," she admitted. "Haha! I like your style!" Brock laughed. "Geodude, Defense Curl!" Geodude began wrapping its strong arms around its body, but— "Carla, Poison Sting!" She spat a bunch of small needles at Geodude's face. It didn't work too well; Geodude didn't even get poisoned. "Carla, return. Julian, go!" "OK… Defense Curl again."

Natalia sighed. "Tackle." Julian rammed into his opponent, but with as much success as Carla had had. "One more time!" Again Geodude curled up into a near-impenetrable ball of rock. Then Natalia had a brainwave. "Julian, return. Flint, you're up!"

It was all Brock could do not to burst out laughing. "A Charmander? Wow, you _really_ didn't train enough."

"Maybe, but Flint's fast, and he knows a Special move. Ember attack!" Flint spat little pellets of fire at Geodude. This did more damage than Poison Sting and Tackle had, but it still didn't quite work. Geodude flinched then, and she saw a dark spot on its left arm. "Nice work, Geodude was burned," Dex chimed. "Tackle!" Geodude pushed itself across the floor and into Flint.

"Again!" Flint spat more fire at Geodude. Geodude curled up in a reflexive Defense Curl, but its burn clearly hurt it. "Nice job, Flint. Return," she said, recalling him. "Gina, finish it off!" Brock was visibly nervous now. "Tackle!" Gina hardly took any damage, and it looked almost ready to drop.

"Gina, Low Kick," Natalia said. With a malicious grin, Gina crouched down and swept her leg underneath Geodude. "Geo!" it moaned, collapsing. "Excellent work, Geodude," Brock said, recalling it. "Can you handle my Onix?" The Rock Snake Pokémon roared, glaring at Gina as if to intimidate her. "Tackle!" Onix lunged at her, but Gina nimbly dodged the attack.

"Low Kick!" Gina swiftly kicked at Onix's tail, causing the snake to lose its balance and fall. Both trainers almost fell over from the shockwave.

"Onix, Tackle again!" Onix rose up and lunged at Gina. She couldn't dodge fast enough, but survived a Pokémon that had to be at least 20 times her size hitting her. "Finish him!" Gina kicked one of the boulders that made up its midsection, causing Onix to hit the wall and collapse. The fight was over, and Gina was a whole level stronger.

"Well, that'll teach me to take the ones with Charmander for granted," Brock quipped. "As proof of your victory, here's the official Pokémon League Boulder Badge." He placed the simple gray badge and a none-too-shabby 1400Poké in her hands. "Aww yeaaah!" Natalia cheered, giving Gina a high-five.

"Just having the Badge increases your Pokémon's Attack power. You can also use Flash outside of battle if you have it," Brock stated. "Also, take this. I don't know why I didn't use that move when I had the chance, but…" He shrugged, handing her a shiny brown disk. "Uh…what is it?" Natalia asked.

"That's a TM, or Technical Machine," Brock explained. "It contains a move for a Pokémon to learn. It's one-use, though, so choose wisely. This one is TM39; Rock Tomb, one of my favorites. It—"

"Throws giant boulders at the opponent, I know," Natalia interrupted. "I saw one of your earlier battles." "Well, it might also lower your opponent's Speed," he added. "By the way, what's your name? I'm going to carve it in the statues near the entrance."

"I'm Natalia." Brock appeared thoughtful for a moment. "…OK. The next Gym is in Cerulean City. Good luck!" Natalia waved, then headed back to the Center to fulfill her promise to Ethan. Also, she pinned the badge onto her top and had Gina take a photo of it.


	7. Chapter 7

"Welcome back, Ethan!" Natalia smiled, petting him. "While you were in storage, we leveled up a lot, Jo died, Julian and Carla evolved (in that order), and I got the Boulder Badge!" "Piii…" Ethan breathed. "Now let's get training!"

At the edge of Pewter City, a guy in a lab coat intercepted her. "Hi, Natalia, I'm one of Professor Oak's aides," he said. "He wanted me to deliver this from your mom." He handed her a nondescript brown package. Inside was a pair of running shoes, glucose tablets, a flashlight with extra batteries, and a note from her mom:

"_Hi, Natalia. I found both of these in the attic. Would you believe they're still new? The glucose tablets were just sitting there in the fridge. I know you took your insulin with you, but better safe than sorry. You can give your current shoes to the aide or not, as you see fit. I'm always cheering for you, so don't ever give up! Much love, Mom. PS: Remember what I said about calling home?" _Natalia smiled, and tucked the note into her bag's Key Items pocket. The shoes and batteries went into some other pocket, and the flashlight onto her belt. "Bye!" the aide said, already leaving for Pallet Town. Natalia raced out to Route 3, which was kind of barren, actually.

"Excuse me! You looked at me, didn't you?" a young girl asked politely. "Yes," Natalia said. "Perfect! I'm Janice, let's battle!" the girl cheered. "Pidgey, go!" "Ethan!" It took three Thundershocks, two of which actually hit because of Sand-Attack, for Ethan to beat the Pidgey and grow a level.

"Foo," Janice muttered. "Other Pidgey!" This fight was identical to the first in all but Pidgey's ability to outspeed/dodge Ethan. "Wow, you're good," Janice said, handing her 144 Poké. "Thanks for the workout," Natalia smiled. She headed back to Pewter City to heal.

On the way back up, a bug catcher (why did they all look exactly the same?) noticed her. "Hey! I saw you in Viridian Forest!" he called. "Funny, I think I'd remember beating you," Natalia quipped. "Oh, well, let's fight! Go, Ethan!"

"Caterpie, I choose you!" Natalia almost fell over when she saw that the Caterpie was level ten. "How the heck do you not have a Butterfree or at least a Metapod by now?" she shouted. "Ethan, Thundershock!" Two shocks, and Caterpie was in the red. Ethan needed a break, so Natalia sent in Julian to finish the job.

"Weedle, go! Poison Sting!" the kid shouted. Julian didn't get poisoned (not like it mattered), but his Tackle missed. She temporarily switched in Carla, then Lucy to finish the bug off. His other Caterpie went the same way. "You beat me again!" he griped, handing her 120 Poké.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember fighting you," she deadpanned. "And by the way, your Pokémon need to evolve." She headed a little farther up the route before doubling back and picking up an Oran Berry. As an afterthought, she went all the way back to Pewter City and healed. _Better safe than sorry._

Coming back out for the third time, she decided that she was going to try and blaze through as much of the Route as she could. Going back to heal after every battle would take too long, after all. "Hi! I like shorts! They're delightfully comfy and easy to wear!" a boy in a yellow hat cheered.

"And you're telling me this…why?" Natalia asked, trying not to laugh.

The kid shrugged. "Rattata, go!" Ethan leaped into battle. "Slow down, Ethan," Natalia chided. "We don't know whether you'll be able to outspeed this one. Gina, playtime!" Ethan gave her the evil eye before politely stepping aside for the Mankey.

"Tail Whip!" Rattata wiggled its purple tail in an effort to distract Gina, and was able to do it again before she could react. "Oh, well, Gina's Defense isn't great anyway. Low Kick!" Gina didn't bother acting like she was in a martial arts film, preferring to literally trip the youngster's Rattata. "One more time!" "Stat-affecting noob," she muttered. "Gina, Scratch!" Rattata barely survived the onslaught.

"You know what, kid? You lower my Defense, I'll lower yours. Gina, Leer." Gina's usually happy face suddenly took on quite an intimidating expression. Rattata curled up into a little ball… "Psych! Tackle!" All that Tail Whipping had paid off—Gina collapsed, blood staining the fur around her mouth. "GINA!" Natalia cried, kneeling. "Man…key…" Gina wheezed. Her eyes closed.

She stared at Gina's body, genuinely shocked. Hearing about a death from your Pokédex was one thing. Seeing it happen right in front of you was something else entirely. "Ha-ha-ha! Who's the stat-affecting noob _now_, huh? Huh?" the youngster taunted. "Ah, it can't be helped. You didn't know my Rattata was top percent—OW! What was that for?"

Natalia had punched him in the arm. "Shut up," she said through gritted teeth. "Julian, Tackle attack." The green cocoon easily finished off his Rattata. "Ekans, go!" A purple snake hissed at them all, glaring at Julian. Suddenly, he appeared a little weaker. "I love Intimidate," the boy said. "Wrap!"

Ekans slithered forward, curling its body around Julian. "Tackle!" Julian flung himself to the ground, but got squeezed tighter. "I love this move, too," he said calmly. "Leer!" Ekans glared at Julian just a little bit differently. Julian flung himself to the ground again. "Now, Poison Sting!" Ekans had only to open his mouth, and a flurry of poisonous needles knocked Julian to half health.

"I am so sick of you outspeeding me," Natalia hissed. "Julian, String Shot!" Thin, white strands of silk shot from Julian's mouth area and glued Ekans' head to his body. Ekans hissed, trying to rip them off without tearing away any scales.

"Wrap again!" Ekans squeezed Julian ever tighter, and he was running out of health. Natalia frantically looked through her bag for a Potion, but she'd forgotten to buy supplies. _What do I do? Wait…The Oran Berry!_ She pulled the blue berry from its pouch and tossed it to Julian, calling "Eat up!"

That only lasted a turn—his Ekans used Wrap AGAIN, and now she was in an even worse situation. Thankfully, Julian was freed from the Ekans' grip soon after. "Julian, return," Natalia smiled. "Go get 'em, Flint!" A critical-hit Ember defeated him at long last. "Crud," the youngster muttered. "Hey, I think your Metapod's ready to evolve."

That got Natalia's attention. She quickly sent out Julian, and watched in awe as the familiar green shell split down the middle. A glowing white shape with little antennae and feet crawled out, rested on its rim, and unfurled still-glowing wings. When the light faded, a butterfly with red eyes was staring at them. "Free free," Julian commented, flying into the air. "*beep* Congratulations! Julian evolved into Butterfree! He can now use Confusion!" Dex cheered.

"I almost forgive you for making fun of me," Natalia said to the boy. "Almost." She picked up Gina's body and walked to the bottom part of the Route, stopping in a part near the mountains.

She sent out her whole team. "Guys, Gina's dead. Help me dig a grave for her." Carla blinked, Ethan and Flint automatically moved to help her, and Lucy and Julian simply stared. At one point, though, a few dirt clods moved aside all by themselves. "Rest in peace, Gina," Natalia murmured. "Thank you for everything…" She shuddered, and a few small tears fell on Gina's body. Her Pokémon all moved in then, covering their fallen friend and her Poké Ball. Natalia recalled them, then ran back to Pewter City and healed. _No one else is going to die today,_ she thought grimly. _Not if I can help it._

No one else even got into the red: Flint, Ethan, and Lucy all leveled up from battling the other Trainers, and the first two learned Metal Claw and Thunder Wave, respectively. The closest Julian got was 8 HP against Lass Sally, and Flint, worryingly, got poisoned from her Nidoran female's Poison Point. Natalia made it to the Pokémon Center in time, and made sure to thank Nurse Joy and her lucky stars.

"I wonder what kinds of Pokémon live here?" she asked herself, exploring a patch of tall grass. Before she found anything, though, a girl noticed her. "Hey, can you help me get better?" the girl asked. "I'm bored."

"OK. My name's Natalia." "I'm Robin, and this is my Jigglypuff!" Robin smiled, sending out a familiar and adorable pink ball. "Holy crap, level 14? No wonder you're bored!" Natalia cried. "Carla, sit this one out. Flint, go!"

"Defense Curl!" It had looked effective with Brock's Geodude, but looked downright silly with a pink ball of fur. "Flint, let's try Metal Claw!" Natalia called. Flint's claws shimmered for a moment, then he tore at Jigglypuff with surprising violence. "Aaah! Defense Curl again!"

Natalia offered a small smile. "Tip number one: when you increase your Defense a bunch of times, you leave your _Special_ Defense wide open for stuff like Flint's Ember." On cue, Flint spat fire at Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff, Sing!" Jigglypuff pulled out a microphone, closed her eyes and began to sing…very, very softly. "Jigglypuff's attack missed," Dex commented.

"Flint, Scratch!" It did a small amount of damage, but just enough.

"Pound!" Robin cried out. With an indignant "Puff," Jigglypuff inflated itself and walloped Flint straight in the face.

"Ember! Don't let her get to you!" More fire. Jigglypuff was nearly beaten, but still found the energy to Pound Flint. "Finish it off with Metal Claw!" Again, Flint tore into Jigglypuff with slightly shimmering claws…and again, Jigglypuff survived. But just barely.

"Impressive!" Natalia commented. "Those Defense Curls paid off!" Robin grinned. "Jigglypuff, use Pound one more time!" This one did a fair bit of damage too, like the others.

"Scratch." Flint smiled apologetically, walked up to Jigglypuff, and scratched her right across the center of her curl. Jigglypuff collapsed. "Oh no, Jigglypuff!" Robin cried.

"She should be OK," Natalia smiled. "That was a terrific fight, Robin." Robin blushed. "Thank you, Natalia," she said, handing her some prize money.

Running around looking for Pokémon, the first thing she found was a level 6 Pidgey. _Hmm, to catch or not to catch…Oh, what the heck. I can always come back later._ "Carla, Poison Sting!" She couldn't use anyone else because they were either too strong or had a type advantage. Carla and Pidgey traded blows for a while, though one of Carla's missed.

"OK, Carla, that should do it," Natalia smiled. She pulled out her only Poké Ball. "I hope this works…Poké Ball, go!" Wobble. Wobble. Crrack. "Dang it!" Natalia muttered. "Forget this, I'm using Ethan and going back for supplies." On the way back, she also battled a kid she'd avoided the first few times. His Spearow was actually pretty challenging.

Before she bought anything with her newly-inflated funds, she healed her entire team and visited Cody's and Jo's graves. _Hey, guys, I got the Boulder Badge today,_ she thought/prayed. _I wish you'd been there to see it, Gina was kickass! But she's probably told you all about it by now._ As far as supplies went, she bought three Poké Balls, a Repel, an Escape Rope, four Potions, and an Antidote. _Adventure time! Again!_

On her second trip, a suspiciously similar Pidgey was waiting for her. It took four tries for Carla to poison him. "Nice work," Natalia smiled. She took out a Poké Ball and threw it at the bird. Wobble. Wobble. Wobble. "Ping."

"Congratulations!" Dex beeped. "Give Pidgey a nickname?" "Zach," she typed. She'd considered "Cody II," but that didn't seem right, somehow. It said something about her concern for her team that the first things she did were restore his HP and cure his poison. As an afterthought, she healed Carla, too.


	8. Chapter 8

Later…

"Zach, Tackle!" The little bird flapped headlong into their Nidoran male opponent. Nidoran smirked, if such a thing were even possible. "Nidoran male's Poison Point poisoned Zach! Be careful!" Dex beeped. _Dang it, not again._ At least he was in the low yellow, and Zach's level to boot. "Zach, that's enough," Natalia said, taking out a Poké Ball. "Poké Ball, go!" Three wobbles. Click. "Yeah!" Natalia cheered, pumping her fist in the air. Thoughtfully, Zach held the Ball up to Dex's camera.

"*beep* Nidoran male, the Poison Pin Pokémon. When listening to distant sounds, they flap their large ears like wings. They also extend toxic spikes when angered. Give Nidoran male a nickname?" It took several moments of pondering, but she decided on "Marco." She didn't even mind when Marco's Ball zipped off to the PC system.

The first thing she noticed about Route 4 was how short it was. The second was the Pokémon Center. After healing everyone, she almost deposited Zach in favor of Marco, but didn't. They were the same level, after all. She snapped a photo of her box and walked over to the bookcase, but…

"Hello there, sweetie pie! Have I got a deal for you!" a random middle-aged guy leered. "I'm selling a secret Pokémon—a Magikarp—for just 500 Poké!" Natalia stared at him in shock/anger—not only was he the guy that kid in Pewter City had warned her about, but he was acting like…well, like a pedophile. "You'll buy it, am I right?"

"…Zach. Tell him what we think about this offer," Natalia spat. As if he could read her mind, the Pidgey flapped his wings and flew right into the salesman's chest. "Ow!" he cried, holding a hand to the spot. "I'm doing this as a favor to you! There's no need to sic your bird on me!"

"Mister, the fact remains that I don't…" She put on her sunglasses "…feel the magic." Nurse Joy was apparently a Lt. Caine fan, because she screamed "YEEEEEAAAAAAAH!" without missing a beat. The guy simply ran. "Where are the videophones?" Natalia asked. "I need to make some phone calls." "Right upstairs," Joy smiled.

After filing a complaint about the (pedo) conman to the Pewter Police, she called home. "Hi, Mom! I'm calling from Route 4!" she smiled. "Well, that's a long way away," her mom said kindly. "Have you caught a lot of Pokémon?" "Uh-huh. Come on out, everyone!" Her mom's eyes widened at the sight of her menagerie, but just for a second.

"Everyone, this is my mom. Say hi!" There followed a small cacophony of Pokémon cries. "Their names are Zach, Carla, Ethan, Julian, Lucy, and Flint," Natalia smiled, pointing to each in turn. "I'm so excited! Carla's just a little bit away from leveling up and hopefully evolving!"

More information-sharing later, Zach was starting to get impatient. He kept tugging on her bag and pointing at the escalator with one wing. "Well, Zach's ready to go, so I'm going to hang up now. I'll call you again when I reach the next town, OK?" "OK, honey. Be careful out there!" She explored the Route a little, but only found a Persim Berry. _Maybe Mt. Moon will be more productive,_ she thought, entering the cave.

Indeed it was—the first thing she found was TM09 Bullet Seed. Mere steps afterward, a Zubat flew down to challenge Zach. "Go get 'em! Tackle!" Zubat was faster, though, biting down on Zach's wing. "Zubat's Leech Life wasn't very effective," Dex beeped. Tackle didn't do much either, but at least Zach wasn't affected by its Astonish. A few turns passed like this, and Natalia saw that she was never going to capture Zubat this way.

"Carla, your turn!" she called, sending out the Kakuna. That didn't work so well either, so Natalia decided to try Julian. "Tackle!" She was careful not to use Confusion, because it seemed like too powerful an attack. Even if they were the same level. She caught him using her last Poké Ball. "Zubat, the Bat Pokémon," Dex beeped. "It has no eyes, relying instead on echolocation to find its way around dark caves. Give Zubat a nickname?" "Bruce," she typed. She just couldn't resist the (amateurish) reference. "*beep* Initiating transfer…" The Poké Ball vanished. "Transfer complete. Bruce was placed in Box 1."

After finding a Parlyz Heal and fighting two trainers, Natalia backtracked to Pewter City and bought as many Poké Balls as she had the money for (which wasn't much). She also sold her Parlyz Heal. On the return trip, she caught a female Geodude. _This is a fine specimen of a paradox,_ she thought, typing in the name "Evvy" for one reason or another.

She ran into another Geodude and got ambushed by a self-proclaimed "super nerd." "Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery," she quipped, watching his Magnemite melt under Flint's Ember. His Voltorb—a strange Pokémon that looked like a Poké Ball, but didn't act like one—was more annoying, but Julian beat it in the end. Also, there was a Potion just to his right.

Farther to the left, right next to a patch of sand, Natalia found a perfectly random blue-wrapped candy. She checked the label and nearly had a panic attack—it was a Rare Candy! The brand had been Silph's top-selling item up until about two years ago, when it had simply disappeared from stores. No one knew why, so of course there were all kinds of rumors. Shrugging, Natalia put the candy in her Items pocket. It was still good for raising a Pokémon's level (by one).

The rest of the first floor was uneventful. Zach (he'd recently learned Gust) and Lucy absolutely tore through a bug catcher. Bored, Natalia ran, ignoring one ladder down until she'd reached a second. That one led to a dinky little floor with another ladder, so naturally, she climbed down that one too.

B2F was where things got interesting. After finding TM46, Thief, she was spotted by a strange man in all black. "We're pulling a big operation here! Get lost, kid!" he snarled. "Sorry, sir, I didn't know my exploring was detrimental to you just standing around," she commented. "Why you…! Zubat, teach her a lesson!" he shouted.

"Zach, I choose you!" Natalia cheered. Zubat proved a bit tricky thanks to its Supersonic. When Zach tried to tackle the Zubat, he ended up crashing into a small stalagmite. "Zach, return," Natalia said. "Julian, come on out!"

The man burst out laughing. "A Butterfree? You're dreaming. Leech Life!" Julian didn't even look winded, and easily shook the bat from his wing. "Oh, wow, one damage. I'm quaking in my shoes," Natalia said sarcastically. "Julian, Confusion." The Zubat barely hung on. "What? How the heck does a Poison-type survive a super-effective atta—?"

"Supersonic," the man smirked. Injured as it was, Zubat opened its mouth and screeched. Julian fell almost to the ground, but recovered. "Julian, try a Tackle!" Like Zach before him, he missed. "Astonish." It didn't do much damage, but the attack was worrying anyway. They repeated themselves.

"Thanks, Julian," Natalia said, recalling him. "Finish it off, Ethan!" "Pika pika!" the mouse cried. Astonish did almost nothing. He smirked, already covered in electricity. "Chuuu!" he cried, releasing a very nice Thundershock. Zubat stood no chance. "Grr. Ekans, go!" her opponent called. It glared at Ethan.

Natalia started sweating, remembering her only other encounter with an Ekans. "Ethan, let's not take any chances. Thunder Wave!" Ethan released a different, finer jolt of electricity. It traveled down Ekans' body in waves, sparing no segment.

"Ekans, Wrap!" The snake moved its head threateningly, lunged…and fell flat on its face. "Gaah, I hate paralysis," the man muttered.

"Good work, Ethan. Flint, get it!"

"Poison Sting!" Unfortunately for Natalia, Ekans successfully spat poisonous barbs at Flint. To make things worse, he got poisoned!

"Come on, buddy! Ember attack!" Flint paid Ekans back for being poisoned with a critical hit. "Ugh, you're good…But you'll pay for messing with Team Rocket!" the man vowed overdramatically.

"Aren't you the one who attacked first?" Natalia asked rhetorically. In full view of the Rocket, she pulled out one of her Escape Ropes. Fortunately, it came with instructions. Natalia rearranged her team, recalled Carla, tied the rope twice around her right arm, and threw it at the cave ceiling, calling "Escape Rope, go!" The rope unraveled at the end nearing the ceiling to reveal a drill, somehow. Natalia had just thought up the perfect parting shot when the drill's momentum lifted her from the cave floor at speeds you wouldn't think possible or terribly safe.

The drill bored a straight path through the rock and soil, but it was still a while before Natalia saw any sunlight. She emerged on Route 4, right outside the cave. The Escape Rope's drill stopped spinning, and the entire rope unraveled. Natalia picked up two strands and slipped them into her Items pocket, then healed. When she headed back into Mt. Moon, she went down the first ladder she saw, just on a lark.

This part of B1F, while still tiny, was more rewarding—she found a Paras. Despite its paralyzing both Carla and Ethan, she got it in the end (mostly because of Ethan's Static). "Paras, the Mushroom Pokémon. Mushrooms called tochukaso grow out of its back. In return for nutrients from the bug host, the mushrooms release paralyzing dust. Give Paras a nickname?" "Salad," she typed. _That thing was so annoying, it doesn't deserve a real name._

On the other part of B2F, she got ambushed by another Rocket. "We, Team Rocket, are Pokémon gangsters! We strike fear into people's hearts with our strength!" he boasted. "…Ugh, who _wrote_ that?" He was suddenly bitter. "They know as well as I do that Grunts get all the worst assignments."

Natalia giggled quietly in spite of herself. "Maybe a good battle will take your mind off things," she suggested. "Carla, go!"

"That's a perfect idea! Sandshrew, come on out!" the grunt cheered. "Wait…what's wrong with your Kakuna?" Natalia looked, and Carla appeared even stiffer than usual.

"Stupid Paras," she grumbled. "All right, Zach, time to shine!" The grunt blinked. "Scratch!" Sandshrew leaped at Zach with surprising speed and ripped apart some of his chest feathers.

"Zach, send him flying!" He nodded, and whipped up a Gust attack strong enough to knock Sandshrew on its tail. "Scratch again! No mercy!" the grunt called. Sandshrew tore furiously at Zach's body.

"Aaah! Zach, return! Julian, I choose you!" Two Confusions and a Tackle later—Sandshrew used Sand-Attack a few times, but Julian had Compound Eyes—, his Sandshrew was down. "Rattata, finish it!" the grunt shouted.

Natalia raised an eyebrow. "Julian, Tackle." It hardly did anything, and the grunt kept telling Rattata to use Tail Whip. Fearing another setup, Natalia sent in Flint, and easily finished off both Rattata and his Zubat. She earned a good deal of money, found a pretty red gem called a "Star Piece," then…

"Cle?" A Clefairy—one of the rarest Pokémon in Kanto—was staring inquisitively at the two of them.

"AAAAAAAH! Oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my Gooood!" Natalia squealed, taking a picture. "Fairy," Clefairy commented, a bead of sweat rolling down her face.

"Carla, Poison Sting! We're gonna catch ourselves a…Wait…" She checked her Poké Ball pocket. It was empty. "OH, FOR THE LOVE OF—!" She recalled Carla and ran out of Mt. Moon, not stopping until she was at the Pokémon Center.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day…

"OK, gang, I know you're itching to get back into Mt. Moon, but we need supplies first," Natalia told her team. "Particularly Poké Balls—I ran into a _Clefairy_ yesterday, and didn't have anything to capture it with." Flint's eyes widened. "So yeah, one small detour, and then we can continue to Cerulean City. OK?" Everyone nodded.

She bought three Poké Balls and three Antidotes, leaving her with a round sum of 320 Poké. Also, she had Carla and Ethan fight a few battles on Route 3. Carla was pretty close to evolving, after all, and Ethan just plain needed the experience.

It was in Mt. Moon, however, that Carla finally grew to level ten. Her evolution process, Natalia noted, was a bit more sinister than Julian's. Instead of the shell cracking open of its own accord, two glowing white needles thrust through it, then tore the shell in half. Small oval wings snapped open, a sharp contrast to Julian's large, calming ones. Long, thin antennae unfurled, the shell curled up and fell off her new stinger/back legs, and the white light that had covered her faded. The bold stripes on her abdomen and red eyes left no doubt—Carla was dangerous now.

"Beedrill," she buzzed, swinging her new needles experimentally. "Congratulations! Carla evolved into Beedrill! She can now use Fury Attack!" Dex beeped. Natalia snapped a photo, then rearranged her team a bit so Ethan was out front.

The rest of the first floor was moderately eventful. Ethan grew a level, Lucy absolutely destroyed a Lass' Oddish and Bellsprout, and Julian got to 8 HP (again) against Youngster Josh's Rattata. Flint defeated both of them easily enough; but then again, he was level 15. Zach beat his Zubat with only Gust.

Avoiding a Hiker, Natalia saw a strange black stone a fair distance from the ladder down. She picked it up and had Dex scan it. "Moon Stone," the machine beeped. "Used to make certain Pokémon evolve. Very rare." Smiling, she pocketed it and climbed down the ladder. She only had two encounters, both of which were Paras.

On B2F, she found a Revive—a medicine that could revitalize defeated Pokémon. A Rocket grunt's Sandshrew gave Julian a hard time with Sand-Attack, so she switched in Flint to finish it off. The Zubat were starting to annoy her, so she put Flint out front and used her Repel. She trounced another Rocket grunt, then noticed that Flint was glowing white. _Oh, right, he grew a level…!_

"Chaaar!" Flint cried out. _He's in pain! …but it's part of evolving, _Natalia thought. He grew taller, stockier. A horn emerged from his head, and his tail and arms lengthened. His face lengthened as well, and when the light faded, Natalia could see that he was now legitimately dangerous. He was a darker red, and his eyes weren't cheerful green anymore, but piercing blue and a bit smaller. His claws were longer, sharper, thicker, and most definitely shinier.

"Meleon," he said proudly. Even his voice had changed—it was deeper, more menacing. He focused, and his claws instantly became small razor blades with which he pulverized a stalagmite. "Congratulations! Flint evolved into Charmeleon! View stats?" Natalia selected "Yes," and saw that he was still as speedy and powerful as he'd been.

"You saw that, right?" she asked the now-terrified grunt. He (or she, Natalia couldn't quite tell) nodded frantically. "Good." She healed Flint with her last Potion, took a photo, and headed onward.

Under a rock, she found another Moon Stone, then headed on to look at some fossils the grunt had mentioned. "Hey, stop! I found these fossils! They're both mine!" a skinny black-haired teen shouted at her. "Take it easy, guy, I just wanna look," Natalia commented.

"Doesn't matter to me! Go, Grimer!" A repugnant smell filled the cave, and a big pile of purple sludge with a face raised a fist to strike Flint.

"Ember!" The flames were bigger, hotter now: a testament to Flint's improved Special Attack.

"Poison Gas!" Grimer breathed out a thin cloud of purple gas.

"Duck!" Flint did, and Natalia held her breath. When the gas dissipated, Natalia gasped, then called "Ember again!"

Grimer appeared even more unstable after the second onslaught. "Pound!" It quite literally pulled itself together and punched Flint in the gut with a slimy fist.

"Finish the fight with Metal Claw!" Flint sliced through Grimer with no qualms about what he was slicing. He also appeared a little stronger. "Flint's Attack went up! Nice!" Dex beeped.

"Koffing, let's do this!" the nerd cried, sending out an equally smelly but slightly less repulsive Pokémon.

"Ember!" The nerd panicked when a stray spark hit Koffing's gassy emanations. He needn't have worried—the effect was more "piece of flash paper burning up" than "cave-rattling explosion". "Smog!" Again the attack missed.

"Flint, finish him off!" Flint leaped at Koffing, scratching him across the face. Koffing barely survived. "Try Smog again!" This one hit, but it didn't do much. "Scratch." Flint swiped a single claw across Koffing's lower body, and it collapsed. "Grr. Voltorb!" he called. It wasn't much of a fight.

"OK, OK, you can have one of them," the nerd conceded. "But only one!" Natalia took the first one she saw—the Helix Fossil. "Then the Dome Fossil is mine! Awesomesauce!" Natalia left without another word. Under a rock near the exit, she found a strange "TinyMushroom."

The second part of Route 4 was much grassier, but still uneventful other than the Razz Berry and TM05 Roar. She approached two karate students giving each other the evil eye. "Hey there!" she smiled. "Why the long faces?" "It's simple," the one on the left said. "That fool across from me insists that Mega Kick is a superior move to Mega Punch." "Because it is!" the other one shouted.

"I'll prove it to you by teaching it to one of your Pokémon!" they both declared. Natalia thought for a moment. "I can't decide between the two of you," she said carefully. "I don't think most of my Pokémon can learn Mega Punch or Mega Kick anyway, so I'm just going to leave now. Good luck!" The two stared dumbfounded after her.

The Route's only grass patch was at the very end of it, below a ledge. "Here we go, Carla," she said, recalling the Beedrill. "Geronimo!" The ledge was a bit shorter than she'd expected. She dodged a Rattata and raced down the path into Cerulean City.


	10. Chapter 10

After healing and calling her mom, Natalia devoted herself to exploring Cerulean City. She learned about Bill the Poké-maniac and PC expert from the people in the Pokémon Center, visited the Bike Shop, found a Rare Candy in one old guy's backyard (which he generously allowed her to keep), graciously declined a second old man's offer to trade his Jynx for a Poliwhirl, and got a Powder Jar (which she didn't think she'd ever use) from yet a third senior citizen. Then she dropped in on the Cerulean City Gym.

"…Wow." It was a giant swimming pool. "Yeah, a lot of people have that reaction. Anyway, everyone here uses Water Pokémon," the Gym guide said. "You can drain their energy with Grass moves or zap 'em with Electric attacks, your choice." "I think I'll go do some training," she said, leaving.

Back on Route 4, an Ekans intercepted her. "Ooh, that could come in handy! Carla, Fury Attack!" Ekans wrapped itself around Carla, but she still got in some good hits. "Poké Ball, go!" Natalia cried, throwing one at the snake. Carla wiggled her needles gratefully as the Ball sucked Ekans off her body. Luck felt spunky that day, and it worked. "Ekans, the Snake Pokémon," Dex beeped. "A common sight in grasslands. It flicks its tongue out to sense danger in its surroundings. Give Ekans a nickname?" This one took seconds—Cleo, short for the Egyptian queen.

Training on Route 4 was a bit dangerous—Carla and Julian got uncomfortably close to the red zone—so Natalia decided to stock up and head for Routes 24 and 25. Cerulean City's Poké Mart stocked Super Potions, which could restore 50 HP as opposed to 20. She only had enough money for one after buying some Potions, though.

"By the way, how much can I sell this little red gem from Mt. Moon for?" Natalia said, showing her Star Piece to the clerk. His jaw dropped, and she saw several new sparkles in his eyes. "…I'll give you 4,900 Poké for that Star Piece," he whispered.

"WOW! We've got a deal!" Natalia cheered. With her new funds, she bought a little of everything she thought she'd need. This excluded Burn Heals and Ice Heals, but included two cans of Repel. She was left with a nice, workable sum of 1,226 Poké. She walked up to the bridge out of the city in a happy mood, but…

"Yo! Natalia!" Gary called, sauntering up to her. "You're still struggling along back here?" "I wouldn't call it that," she retorted.

"I caught all kinds of strong and smart Pokémon! Let me see what you've got, Natalia! Alex, go!" He'd certainly been busy—Alex was now a Pidgeotto! Carla buzzed in, ready to jab the bird with her needles. "Carla, I'm not risking your life. Flint, I choose you!" Natalia called.

Gary blinked in surprise. "Whoa, he's a Charmeleon now! Alex, Gust!" The attack certainly looked impressive, but Flint wasn't too injured. "Ember!" Flint took a deep breath, then breathed a cloud of fire at Alex big enough to scorch his crest.

"Tackle!" Alex blindsided Flint with his powerful wings. "Nice," Natalia grinned. "Metal—!"

"Alex, Quick Attack!" The Pidgeotto turned around and jabbed Flint in the back with his sharp beak. "Metal Claw! No mercy!" Flint smiled, then leapt at Alex with outstretched, dangerous claws. "Pidgeee!" Alex squawked as Flint tore into him. "Good job, Flint," Natalia said. "Here, have a Potion." Flint's scratch and bruises disappeared.

"Alex, Sand-Attack!" She was tempted to call Gary a stat-affecting noob while Flint cleared the sand from his eyes, but thought better of it. "Follow up with Quick Attack!" Rather than jab Flint in the back, Alex opted to blindside him with a wing, then scratch his belly with one sharp talon.

"Ember!" She noted with interest that Flint's flames were a bit brighter and hotter than usual. Alex's feathers lost nearly all of their usual shine, and a few even fell off. "Again!" Gary called. Alex relied solely on his wings this time.

"Scratch!" Flint nodded, and swiped Alex across the breastbone. He collapsed.

"Alex, return," Gary said. "Juan, time for a firefight!" In sharp contrast to Alex's new look, Juan was still a Squirtle at level 18.

Natalia facepalmed. "…you let Alex evolve, but not your starter? Wow. Ethan, I choose you!" "Pika…" Ethan said, glancing at her. "I know, I know, but you have an Electric attack. Flint doesn't," she soothed. "Thundershock!"

"Squirrrrt!" Juan screamed. Perhaps he was being a bit overdramatic, because the only mark Thundershock left was a blackened patch on his underbelly.

"Juan, Tail Whip!" Natalia was beginning to doubt Gary's training plan. So was Ethan, because he released two much thinner bolts into each of the Squirtle's arms. "Was that necessary?" Gary remarked. "OK, Tail Whip and then Withdraw." Juan wiggled his curly tail tauntingly, and then ducked all his limbs into his shiny brown shell.

"Quick Attack!" Ethan dashed towards Juan and flipped him over, revealing all appendages.

"Come on, Tackle!" Juan twitched his limbs, but made little progress. "Dang it!"

"Ethan, Thundershock again!" "Chuu!" Juan looked like he was going to fall over at any second.

"Tackle!" Gary called. Juan ducked into his shell and spun towards Ethan, who jumped. To Natalia's surprise and delight, Ethan immediately executed a Quick Attack that forced him slightly into the bridgework. "Oh my. Uh, are Squirtle shells splinter-proof?" she asked.

Gary took the few steps to Juan's side and helped him up. "Fortunately, yes. Juan, try a Water Gun!" Juan breathed in deeply and sprayed…a pathetic clump of bubbles that didn't even get past his mouth.

"Quick Attack one more time!" Ethan sped towards Juan's exposed form and rammed him in the gut.

"Impressive victory," Gary conceded, recalling Juan. "But I'm not through yet! Penn, come on out!" A strange yellow Pokémon with brown body armor emerged. "Abra," Dex beeped. "Rather rare Psychic-type. This one is level 16."

"So how'd you wind up with a level 16 Abra and a level 17 Pidgeotto?" Natalia asked flippantly. "Long story," Gary said. "Penn, grab Ethan's arm and teleport him over the fence!" Penn floated over to Ethan, laid a hand on his arm, and concentrated. A purple light shone from Penn's body, and was just about to cover Ethan too when the Abra simply vanished.

Pop! Penn reappeared on the other side of the fence, looking sheepish. "Don't say anything."

"Wasn't about to," she relied flippantly. "Ethan, Thundershock!" It was a bit of a stretch for Ethan, which probably explained why the attack didn't do a lot of damage.

"Get back here!" Gary shouted. Penn speedily teleported himself back onto the bridge, as if to show Gary that he could indeed get something right.

"Ethan, Thunder Wave." The small burst mimicked the light in Ethan's eyes. Oddly, the instant Penn stiffened, Ethan seemed to have difficulty moving, too. "I love Synchronize," Gary grinned. "Passes poison, a burn, or paralysis to the foe, too."

"You did well, Ethan. Julian, show Penn how it's done!" Penn stared blankly, and Gary was having some difficulty containing his mirth. "Well, _this_ will be interesting. Penn, send Julian into the water!" Penn floated a bit closer to Julian, but crashed.

"Julian, Tackle!" He folded up his wings and zoomed point-blank into Penn's gut. "A critical hit!" Dex beeped. Gary ground his teeth. "Penn, try teleporting a pebble above Julian's head!" The pebble got there, all right, but Julian easily dodged it. "Tackle again!" Penn collapsed under the impact.

"Worst battle ever," he muttered, recalling the Abra. "Stuart, finish it!" Now it was Julian's turn to stare blankly. "Two Tail Whips!" Julian tackled him after the first one, and mockingly tightened all of his muscles after the second.

"Stuart, Quick Attack," Gary smirked. Stuart ran for a few paces, then jumped and shoved Julian to the bridge.

"Confusion!" Julian's eyes glowed for just a moment, and Stuart tumbled slightly onto the bridge. "Good, return. Lucy, do it!"

"Keep going. Aim for her legs," he said coolly. Stuart lunged at Lucy's talons, unbalancing her. "Once more!" Stuart tackled her head from behind, smashing her into the bridge.

"Peck!" Lucy turned around and jabbed viciously at Stuart's face. He got off her in a big hurry. "Great job, Lucy," Natalia smiled. "Zach, time to shine!"

Stuart and Gary exchanged glances. He nodded, and Stuart jumped right into Zach's breastbone. Then he changed tack, and attacked Zach's wings. "Gust!" Zach flapped his wings like a madman, and Stuart went spiraling into the bridge. "Rat…" he squeaked raggedly.

"Zach, I'm not risking your life so you can finish him off," Natalia said firmly. "Playtime, Carla!" Stuart did the same thing again, with bloodier results. "Poison Sting!" Carla jabbed her right needle into Stuart's flank. The little Pokémon collapsed. "You've gotten better," Gary nodded. He handed her 288 Poké.

"Guess what? I visited Bill while I was out training, and he showed me his rare Pokémon!" he bragged. "Cheapest way of getting Pokédex data ever, but I'd never have seen them otherwise. Bill's world famous as a Poké-maniac. He invented the Pokémon storage network on PC, you know." "Oh, is _that_ who 'Someone' is?" Natalia asked.

"That's what I said when I met him. Listen, you're probably using the network, so you should go thank him. Well, I'd better get rolling. Smell ya later!" He headed into town…then doubled back. _OK…_ Natalia thought.

"Look, I…I feel kind of sorry for you," Gary began awkwardly. "No, really. You're always getting to places long after I am. So, here's a little something from me to even the gap." He handed her a strange red device, almost like a Game Boy Advance. "That Fame Checker records things you've heard or read about famous people," he explained. "I'm not really interested in gossip, so yeah. Bye!" He strutted off again.

"…huh. Well, whatever," Natalia said to herself, placing the Fame Checker in her Key Items pocket. "Time to heal!"

It bothered her that Flint outclassed most of her team by five levels, and poor Carla by six. At the bridge, she sent everyone out. "OK, team, no more playing around," she said. "Gary almost killed most of you in our battle, and I think I won more by luck than skill. Since Flint's already stronger than all of you, I'm going to use him only as a last resort. I expect each of you to give it your all no matter whom or what our opponent is, and I promise not to risk anyone's life. OK?" As one, her Pokémon nodded, though Flint didn't look happy. "Then let's go to Route 24."


	11. Chapter 11

4 ¾ trainer battles later…

"Zach! Finish him off with a Quick Attack!" Natalia cheered. Badly injured, Zach nonetheless found the energy to jab their Mankey opponent right between the eyes with his beak. "Whoa! I didn't think level 13 Pidgey could do that!" the camper—last of the five trainers on Nugget Bridge—cried. "But hey, you won. Here's your prize money." She got 360 Poké, and was never happier to have crossed a bridge.

A black-clad man not quite old enough to be middle-aged but not a gangly teenager was waiting for her. "Congratulations! You've cleared the Nugget Bridge challenge! Here's your fabulous prize!" he cheered, handing her a perfect, slightly sparkling gold sphere about as big as Julian's eye.

Natalia exhaled sharply, feeling the weight of it in her hand. "So this is the Nugget…does it do anything?"

"For a trainer like you?" the gentleman laughed. "Nothing, frankly. By the way, I couldn't help watching as you battled those guys. You and your team have amazing potential! How'd you like to work for my organization?"

She didn't fancy the idea of spending the remainder of her journey on someone else's payroll, but was too polite to say so. "I might," she said diplomatically. "What would I be getting into if I did?"

The man's face lit up. "I'm so glad you asked! We work to change the Kanto region for the better through civic engagement, or failing that, our members' Pokémon prowess. We've built training centers, laboratories, playgrounds, anything that can improve people's lives. Our goal is for everyone in Kanto to know our name and use what we create."

Carla was hanging on his every word, and Natalia was equally convinced. "All right, sign me up! What do you guys call yourselves, anyway?"

"Team Rocket," he smiled sheepishly. "Embarrassing name, I know, but the Bo—I mean, the President thinks it captures our goals. …Miss? Miss, are you alright?"

Natalia shivered with the effort of holding in unashamed laughter. "So the folks in black I fought at Mt. Moon were your coworkers," she gasped.

"Yes."

"And they plan to change Kanto. Change it for the_ better._"

"Well, we have to start somewhere…" He seemed uncertain, as though this were his first assignment.

"Tear up my application form, cause you guys _suck!_" she finally laughed. "You're not intimidating at all, you can't battle for crap, and I don't think some of them even knew why they were there! Why _were_ you there, anyway?"

"Never mind that," the man snapped. His demeanor had executed a perfect 180, from corporate representative to Mafioso. Adopting a truly atrocious "Marlon-Brando-faking-an-Italian-accent" voice: "I _was_ offering you a safe choice. Now it's an offer you can't refuse. You're gonna join Team Rocket."

She had to admit, the Godfather quote added a new dimension to the whole situation. "What if I'm not?" she inquired. Carla raised her needles warningly. "What if I have better things to do than work for a bunch of incompetents who can't mimic Don Corleone for beans?" And she should know; her parents were both classic movie aficionados.

The grunt's eyes narrowed dangerously. "There is no 'if,' twerp! Ekans, show this wanna-be hero we mean business!" His Pokémon wasted no time, dodging Carla's Fury Attack to wrap itself tightly around her thorax. It hissed as it did so, meeting Carla's red-eyed gaze with its own. A few unsuccessful Fury Attacks later, Carla forced Ekans off her by slipping her needles between Ekans and her body and pushing. Ekans went flying, but landed unhurt.

As it pushed itself back up, she noticed a nasty-looking scar over its left eye. "What happened there?" she demanded, pointing at Ekans. "Julian, go! You can totally handle this guy!"

The grunt, unlike Gary, took her Butterfree in stride. "We may have trained a little too hard," he shrugged. "Ekans, use Leer." Ekans rose up on its tail to look him directly in the eyes.

"Try out your Stun Spore!" Julian chittered in agreement, then flapped his wings and sent a cloud of yellow dust rolling towards Ekans. The poor thing would have gotten away with only temporary paralysis if it hadn't inhaled some of the dust. Its eyes bugged out, its tail rattled in time with its frantic hissing, and Natalia thought that if it were a human, it would be trying to give itself the Heimlich maneuver. "What did you do to my Ekans?!" the grunt shouted angrily.

"Is it _my_ fault your Pokémon inhaled paralyzing dust?" Natalia retorted. "Julian, put it out of its misery with Confusion." Julian's eyes flashed, and the snake collapsed.

"Don't worry, Ekans, you're gonna be OK," the grunt murmured, recalling his snake. He petted the Poké Ball, and roughly threw his second. "Zubat, finish her!" he shouted. _Perhaps I judged him too harshly…nah. This half-baked jackass won't be recruiting me!_

"Oh, please. Why do all you Rocket grunts have Poison-types?" she asked rhetorically. "Do it again." Julian closed his eyes this time. Zubat was surrounded by purple Psychic energy, then fell to the ground.

"Zubat, can you fight?" the grunt asked. It flapped its wings and rose (somewhat unsteadily). "Fantastic. Supersonic!" She couldn't hear Zubat's screech, but Julian apparently could, because he flew around the area any which way.

"Julian, return. Ethan, I choose you!" Ethan rolled his eyes and let out a derisive "Chu" when he saw what he was up against.

"Zubat, Astonish!" Zubat folded its wings and zoomed into Ethan's gut, screeching all the way. The trip back was a little slower, though, thanks to the electricity that occasionally showed up on Zubat.

"I love Static," Natalia smiled. "All right, Ethan, Quick Attack!" Zubat was down. "So what was that about an offer I couldn't refuse?"

The grunt curtly handed her a decent amount of money. "Never let it be said that I can't judge a trainer's talent. If you'd just been a bit more patient with me, you could be an Admin in no time!" She quickly jogged back down the bridge, not stopping except to rearrange her team until she reached the Pokémon Center and healed.

Compared to Route 4, Routes 24 and 25 were letdowns…except for the level 13 Oddish she ran into on Route 25's only grass patch. "Yeah! First Grass type!" she cheered. It took Ethan and Carla to get her (Oddish) to a safe capture range, after which Oddish put up no fight at all. "Oddish, the Weed Pokémon," Dex beeped. "Scientific name 'Oddium Wanderus.' At night, it's said to walk nearly a thousand feet on its two feet/roots. Give Oddish a nickname?" "Jenna," she typed. Natalia made a mental note to bring her out for Cerulean Gym as Jenna's Ball disappeared into the network.

The rest of Route 25 was a hedge maze full of trainers, which was some consolation. She beat two of them, then went back to Cerulean to heal and bring out Jenna. Deciding who Jenna should replace was easy—Carla. _It's only temporary,_ she rationalized. _Jenna's a little stronger than Carla anyway, plus I'll need a Grass-type for Cerulean Gym._


	12. Chapter 12

Many annoying battles later…

"Finally!" Natalia griped, making her way to a house on the end of Route 25, AKA Cerulean Cape. The trainer battles' only redeeming quality was that Julian could and did curbstomp the myriad Special-Defense-impaired/Poison Pokémon with his Confusion. "Sea Cottage. Bill lives here!" a sign on the mailbox informed her. Intrigued, she went inside.

The cottage was a mess of lab notes, cardboard boxes, and general flotsam. Two big booths connected by a green wire occupied the back wall, and _a Clefairy_ faced the right booth. "Hi there, little one," Natalia managed after a few seconds of silently flipping out. "What're you doing so far away from Mt. Moon, all by yourself?" The Clefairy faced her and said, "Um, I live here, maybe? My name's Bill, and I'm a true Poké-maniac."

Natalia fell over in complete shock. Whether it was from the concept of a talking Clefairy or the idea that Bill was actually a Pokémon, she couldn't tell, but she was struck dumb. "Oh, ha-ha, sorry. Gary reacted like that, too. The machine on the back wall is a beta version of my Teleporter. I was testing it and the stupid thing basically telefragged me and my Clefairy. Can you help me/us out?" Natalia stood up and nodded. "OK, great. We're going to get inside the booth on your right. Once the door closes, head to my PC and press F6." Bill/Clefairy waddled into the Teleporter. She saw him jump to push something else, and the booth's red door clanged shut. Natalia walked to the PC and pushed the button.

"Initiating Cell Separation System. Stay exactly where you are," the computer chimed pleasantly. The light on the top of the right Teleporter began pulsing from red to orange to yellow and back again. This went on for a bit, and then a white light shot across the green wire to the left Teleporter, which also pulsed in the same sequence for the same amount of time. The doors opened in unison, and big as life, Bill and his Clefairy walked out of them. Bill looked a little like Professor Oak and a little like Gary…

"Phew! I gotta say, when Gary walked out on me, I thought I was gonna be stuck in a Clefairy body forever," Bill grinned awkwardly. "Besides the rare Pokémon in my PC, take this as my thanks." He handed her a ticket with a picture of a boat on it. "I got invited to the S.S. Anne's party in Vermilion City, but I can't go while I'm working out bugs in the Teleporter. So, you go instead and have fun! I hear there are plenty of trainers on board." Natalia grinned broadly, placing the ticket in the Key Items pocket. Something else fell out of her hand and hit the floor with a thump. "Huh?" she thought aloud.

She bent down to get a closer look. The mysterious object was about the same size and shape as a Game Pak, slate gray in color. "Bill, what's this other thing you gave me?" she asked. She closed her left hand around it and straightened.

"Oh, that? I have no idea how I picked that up along with the ticket, but it's a Pokédex 'data pack'," Bill said. "See, my dad and I are thinking of starting an electronics company, sort of like competition for Silph Co. The prototype in your hand holds all the data for…" He paused, as if hearing a drumroll inaudible to everyone else. "A Pokémon translator! Wanna test it out for me?"

"Since I'm already holding it, I suppose I don't have a choice," she remarked. "How do I…?"

"Just like a Game Pak," Bill interrupted. "The slot's on the bottom of the Pokédex, complete with a DS Lite-style cover." Smiling, Natalia removed the cover and stuck the pack in.

"*beep* Data pack detected. Install program driver software?" Dex asked. Natalia selected "YES." "Please wait…" That minute felt (and looked) remarkably like installing something on her PC. "Software installed. Would you like to run the program?"

Natalia shivered a bit as she pressed the button. She and Bill were preparing to break a great language barrier. Once the technology was market-ready, everyone, even non-trainers, could be connected to this crazy world on a deeper level than before.

"So what do you see?" a slightly nasal voice asked from near her left knee. Ethan stood up on his tiptoes, for all the good that did. "Is it like those little colored bars that go up and down on a stereo?"

"No, frankly," Bill replied. "But on a completely different note, OH MY GOD IT WORKS WE'RE GONNA BE FAMOUS!" He began dancing around like someone her own age. "This'll get Dad out of his professorial rut and Silph Co out of theirs, and Leaf might actually decide to visit me, and, and…!" Words failed the programmer, and he squeaked in delight.

Clefairy chuckled. "He does this every time. By the way, did you know you can sync your Pokédex with the PC? That's how Spiky-head got the Evolution Crew's data." Natalia stifled a small gasp and double-clicked on a cheesy Pokédex-and-computer-monitor icon.

Ethan tilted his head to one side exactly like a cartoon character. "Gary got whose data now?"

"The Evolution Crew," Clefairy repeated. "That'd be Bill's Jolteon, her son who's part Persian, a former Gym Leader's Vaporeon—"

"Really? Who's his real owner?" Natalia inquired. She didn't want to sit by awkwardly while two Pokémon talked. And besides, the syncing process was taking a while.

"Don't interrupt me," Clefairy retorted. Her left eye twitched for just a second. "Anyway, the Vaporeon properly belongs to Misty's marine biologist mother, and there's a Flareon from God knows where. They're all varying levels of impossible except for Eevee, which is why Bill keeps them in the PC. Of course, the time Jolteon got her paw stuck underneath the dresser and spilled coffee all over—"

"I _thought_ we agreed never to speak of that _again_," Bill interrupted. An awkward silence; there really was no way to follow up such a definitive statement.

"Sync complete," Dex beeped. "Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon are now recorded as 'seen'." Natalia thanked Bill, hugged Clefairy (who squeaked like a Growlithe toy), and headed back to Cerulean.

Three trainer battles later (Jenna and Julian absolutely destroyed a hiker's team, Flint almost died but defeated a second one's Onix, and a camper on Route 24 was a nuisance)…

"If you plan on going inside, _disturb nothing_," the police officer in front of a house behind the Gym said shortly. "Team Rocket vandalized this place, and I don't want to accidentally lump you in with the convict."

"Speaking of Team Rocket, there's a grunt in disguise at the end of Nugget Bridge," Natalia informed him. "He tried to recruit me, if you can believe that!" The officer's eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing else. He politely opened the door for her.

Inside, the house was a hot mess. The table was broken, Pokémon footprints were tracked everywhere, books were on the floor, the works. But most notably, there was a jagged hole in the back wall that left only about a foot of wall below the ceiling. "Look at this! This is what Team Rocket did to my house!" a hiker griped. "They also stole my ridiculously expensive TM for teaching Pokémon how to dig holes!"

"How to dig holes, you say?" Ethan remarked. "Didn't think you needed a machine for that. Anyway, Natalia and I'll kick some butt and get it back."

The hiker blinked. "Did…did your Pikachu just talk?" he asked Natalia.

"My Pokédex can translate his speech," she explained. She shivered—it didn't feel quite right, saying that. "Every word he said's true, sir."

He beamed. "You two make an old man proud. The dirtbag's out back. Go get him!" Natalia offered a hundred-watt smile of her own and exited the house.

"Beat it, shrimp! It's not your yard!" a black-clad stranger shouted at her. "And the guy who trashed the house and stole a TM has more of a right to be here?" Natalia asked.

"How do you…look, that's…I…shut up and fight me!" he sputtered. "Machop, go!"

"And I thought that bug catcher on Route 3 was pathetic," Ethan remarked. He let loose a Thundershock that hit Machop's left shoulder. "Ordinarily, I'd have aimed for your head, but I've never fought a Fighting-type before. Let's see how you do!"

To his credit, the grunt didn't react nearly as embarrassingly to a talking Pokémon. "…I'm going to pretend I know how I understood your rodent," he remarked. "Machop, use Low Kick!" Just a touch winded, Machop crouched and basically tripped him.

Ethan smiled smugly; sparks of electricity Natalia knew to be Static jumped from his body to Machop's. "That's what you get for probably calling me fat," he stated. "So is this!"

He seemed to run only for a few seconds before colliding with what had to have been Machop's solar plex. "I would never insult a worthy opponent," Machop corrected once he'd caught his breath. Focused on Machop's words, Ethan didn't see him reach out with the other leg until it had hit him in the belly. "I fight as Master commands or as I see fit."

"Aren't Fighting-types…supposed to be honorable…?" Ethan gasped. "Natalia, I'm done."

Natalia smiled gently, motioning him behind her. "Go, Julian!"

"Seriously?" he chittered. Red eyes flashed Psychic-purple, and Machop collapsed. "That didn't even take five seconds."

"Fair enough for an inferior Psychic," a different, throaty voice commented. The grunt had sent out an unusual yellow-and-brown Pokémon with fat legs, no neck, and a very small trunk. "Drowzee," Dex beeped. "A Psychic-type found mostly on Route 11. It's notorious for its hypnotic and dream-eating abilities. However, it cannot use the latter in battle without TM82, Dream Eater."

Drowzee bowed what was probably its head. "Sad but true, folks. Anyway…" He leaped and smacked Julian's head with one stubby arm.

"Julian, get back. Zach, Gust for all you're worth!" Natalia called. Drowzee closed its eyes without comment, and shone a soft purple. The light flickered with each gust, and soon it was panting for breath. "That all you got, fatty?" Zach chirped.

The grunt smirked. "Drowzee, Hypnosis," he ordered. His Pokémon's eyes—now a creepy fluorescent blue—snapped open. It raised both arms and moved its six fingers rhythmically. Glowing rings steadily emerged from them and floated across the yard to Zach. When they reached him, they harmlessly dissolved into his face.

Zach yawned hugely. "So sleepy…" He landed, tucked his head under his wing, and slept calmly.

"Alright, you can return," Natalia conceded. "Lucy, finish him off!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Lucy chirruped. She speedily flew in and Pecked at Drowzee's torso with much more force than strictly necessary. "Critical hit!" Dex beeped.

The grunt's newly built-up composure dissolved with his Drowzee. "OK, OK, I know when I'm beat!" he cried out. He frantically handed her a shining tan disk labeled "TM28, Silph Co." and a fair bit of money before racing down a path to parts unknown. Natalia let out a quiet giggle at the sight.

"Hey, kid, I changed my mind," the hiker called from inside. "I'm gonna let you keep that TM as your reward and teach Diglett how to dig without using it! Thanks for your help!"

And in the Gym…

"I'm first up! Let's do this!" the swimmer cheered. "Horsea, go!" The most adorable blue seahorse ever emerged on the walkway (so the trainers wouldn't get electrocuted too, she presumed). "Horsea!" it cheeped.

Natalia couldn't hide a snicker or two. With Ethan _and_ Jenna in her team, Cerulean Gym would be a cakewalk. "Ethan, Thundershock!"

"Way ahead of you," Ethan replied. Natalia blinked, and Ethan stood triumphant over a twitching Horsea and some sort of bivalve Pokémon. "Shellder," Dex beeped. "Water-type found only in Vermilion City with a certain kind of fishing rod."

"Always happens," the swimmer grumbled, handing her a mere 64 Poké.

The picnicker (what a perfectly random type of trainer) was just as easy, especially because she only had one Pokémon—a Goldeen. Its Horn Attack, as impressive as the move sounded, didn't even come close to killing Ethan. Natalia was feeling a bit cautious, so she stocked up and healed before heading back towards the Gym…

A high-pitched scream came from an open window, and Natalia ran all the way to Route 5's grass without looking back once (getting there through the robbed house). "Hey, keep it down, will you?!" someone meowed when she paused for breath. "You interrupted my nap!"

Natalia looked down to find a tan cat Pokémon glaring at her while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. If she'd been an observer, it would have been a lot more hilarious than it was. "Bad enough the Pidgey around here just can't shut the heck up, now some human?"

"She has a name, you know," Ethan advised. A thin wave-like jolt leaped from his body to the cat's. "It's Natalia, and she also knows what we're saying through her Pokédex."

The cat blinked, as though he just now noticed the red machine on Natalia's bag. "Shiny red thing! MINE!" he meowed joyfully, leaping over Ethan and towards her.

"Oh no you don't!" Ethan shouted. Though the cat was already starting to fall (paralysis), Ethan Quick Attacked him into the dirt. "I'd catch this guy now if I were you, Natalia." To the other Pokémon's credit, he knew to quit while he was ahead. Ethan picked up the Great Ball the second it stopped shaking and held it up to the lens.

"Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon," Dex beeped. "It mostly sleeps during the daytime, and patrols its territory at night with its eyes aglow. Give Meowth a nickname?" If the Meowth had been a girl, she would've typed in "Krystal" without a moment's hesitation, but he was a guy, so she settled for the somewhat random "Michael."

The last part of the fenced-in area where all the grass was had a house in it. But it wasn't built like the houses in Cerulean—she could tell that much from its orange roof. When she went inside, she saw that it was furnished for either small children or Pokémon. A slide, a swing set, a low table set with all kinds of food—you name it, it was there.

"Hello there, young lady!" a sharp-dressed older man greeted her. "I run the Pokémon Day-Care service, and you're my first visitor! Would you like me to raise one of your Pokémon?"

"Not right now, sir. Thanks for the offer," Natalia smiled. She used the PC in the corner to get her Pokédex rated and check on her boxed Pokémon.

The following day, she was back on Routes 24 and 25, training the rest of her team. She knew that Ethan and Jenna needed a few levels if they wanted to stand a chance, but it didn't seem fair to everyone else. And besides, Zach was ridiculously close to leveling up.

[ERROR: Grinding sequence not found. Skipping to nearest restore point.]

"If I never fight another Oddish ever again, it'll be too soon," Zach declared. "I thought they were supposed to be uncommon!"

"We are, in this area," Jenna remarked cryptically. "But commonality is relative. Somewhere, Oddish may be a rare sight indeed." She twitched her leaves in a self-satisfied way. "Where to now, Natalia?"

She hummed thoughtfully. "On the one hand, we got great results here—everybody level sixteen," she said. "It's also familiar, so we're in a bit less danger.

"But on the other hand, I've got this ticket to the S.S. Anne's docking party over in Vermilion City from Bill. He said the ship was full of trainers…All in favor?"

"AYE!" all six Pokémon cheered. "We have more than enough supplies," Julian added.

Natalia beamed. "That settles it! And to mark this mini-adventure, Julian gets to follow me until I say otherwise!"


	13. Chapter 13

"What a letdown," Julian griped, flying out of a Meowth's reach (being careful not to scatter Stun Spore or Sleep Powder). "Route 6 is exactly the same as Route 5!"

Natalia shrugged. "Eh, it's good for a little extra training. After all, we have no idea how tough the trainers in Vermilion City are."

"Excuse me, you said you needed training?" a boy in a straw hat—another bug catcher—asked her. "My bugs are all bored silly. Wanna battle?"

"Not like we have a choice or anything," she said. "Julian, you're on!"

"Weedle, go!" The battle wasn't much to speak of—Julian defeated his two _level sixteen Weedle_ almost as soon as they were sent out, and Lucy did the same to his equally overleveled Caterpie. "Dang it, I wanted them to get better, not utterly defeated!" the boy pouted.

"Perhaps if you actually let them evolve, you'll see better results," Julian chittered. "Honestly, leaving a Caterpie unevolved after level 7 almost counts as Pokémon cruelty!"

She walked on down the route, past two green-clad trainers in an intense discussion near a very pretty lake. In part of the long grass near the edge of the lake, she spotted a red-haired bug catcher working with his Butterfree. "Look, another Butterfree!" Julian chirped. "Can we watch? Please? Please?"

"I'd love to, but no," she replied gently. "I know how this works; he's going to spot us at some point and then challenge us to a battle. We both know how much of a pain Butterfree with multiple powder attacks can be. Best to give it a miss."

She fought a surprisingly good picnicker near the end of the route. "I wouldn't go on to Vermilion to heal if I were you," the girl advised. "Jeff'll challenge you, and he doesn't pull any punches."

"Thanks for the tip," Natalia smiled. "Come on, team, we're paying a brief visit to Saffron City!" The road turned out to be closed for repairs, so she trekked all the way back down the Underground Path, up Route 5, and finally to Cerulean's Pokémon Center. She also rearranged her items so that the medicine and Rare Candies were near the top.

On her second trip down Route 6, she fought that bug catcher, whose skill impressed her in the same way her own impressed Gary. His Butterfree was level 20, which was higher even than Flint, and combined Supersonic with Stun Spore and Poison Powder. The former strategy put Lucy out of the running. She got lucky when she sent out Zach [a/n: I fail at note-taking, so assume Flint got experience from Butterfree, too]; he was able to knock it to one HP with Gust despite being confused (and poisoned), then defeat it with Quick Attack and level up. _He didn't evolve? So how'd Alex get to be a Pidgeotto, then?_ But that was a question for another time.

"Nice strategy! You're the best bug catcher I've ever fought," Natalia smiled, graciously accepting her prize money. "And you're the best trainer! You're almost too good!" he enthused. "This may sound dodgy, but can I have your phone number? I want to learn more about how you battle so I can get better, too!"

"All right, I'll give you mine first," he grinned (they'd asked for each other's numbers at the same time). He wrote something down on an index card and passed it to her. "I'll add your number when you text me. See you around!" Natalia cured her birds, rearranged her team, and headed onward. Jeff's Spearow and Sandshrew (both level 16) put up a decent enough fight.

Vermilion City was…well, _different_. No matter where she walked, she could hear and see waves crashing onto the shore. She and Ethan ran around on the beaches in typical tourist fashion, leaving trails of sneaker- and pawprints all over. "This is so cool!" she remarked at one point. "Some little kid's going to use the sand we touched to build a sand castle!"

Ethan cleared his throat and pointed behind her. "I hate to burst your bubble, but…" She looked where he was pointing; the prints they'd left were rapidly fading away. It took a fair amount of effort to keep her jaw from dropping open like a dead fish.

"This is your first time visiting Vermilion City, isn't it?" a nearby girl asked her. "Don't answer that; I can tell by your face. Beaches here have been doing that for as long as anybody can remember. No one's sure why, so don't ask!"

Exploring the city, she spotted the (inaccessible-for-now) Gym, almost threw a hissy fit when a girl offered to trade her "Farfetch'd" for Lucy, visited a construction site that didn't look too active ("My Machop is tamping the land so I can lay the foundation!"), and got a beat-up fishing rod from the self-proclaimed Fishing Guru. Shrugging, she cast the rod into the water outside his house.

After a brief wait, the bobber slipped below the waves. "Here we go…!" Natalia cried, reeling it in. The bait hook surfaced, bringing with it…a level 5 Magikarp. "Of course I get the weird useless fish," she muttered. "Ethan, Thunder Wave." In response to being paralyzed, Magikarp flapped uselessly. Rather than risk KOing it, she just threw a Poké Ball.

Wobble. Wobble. Wobble. Crrack. "…**What.**" Ethan Quick Attacked the poor thing off the rod and into the water. _I'm starting to regret taking this stupid thing,_ she thought bitterly. To take her mind off that embarrassing first attempt, she entered the bug catcher's phone number (Elijah, 555-4730) and visited the Pokémon Fan Club, located just behind the Gym.

Ethan almost immediately ran to a somewhat overweight guy's Pikachu. "Oh yeah! I haven't seen another Pikachu since Natalia caught me!" he cheered. "My name's Ethan. Does your trainer call you anything special?"

All the members present (a whopping three) gasped. "He can speak human?!" the guy exclaimed. "Little lady, do you have any idea exactly how lucky you are right now?"

Natalia blushed. "It's not quite that. My Pokédex recently got a translator function added to it." To prove her point, his Pikachu introduced herself as Lilly.

Then she poked him in the chest. "Tag, you're it," she giggled. She took off running all over the room with Ethan in hot pursuit. _I don't think I've ever seen Ethan so happy,_ Natalia mused silently. A warm smile emerged on her face. _This is amazing! I hope more things like this happen to me!_

"Why are you watching those two rodents?" a girl across the table demanded. "Jamie here is twice as cute as both of them combined!"

"That's right!" the chubby Pokémon barked. He was white all over, and supported his upper body (the lower ended in a tail) with two skinny-looking fins. A tiny white horn protruded from his head just above big, intelligent black eyes. "Seel," Dex beeped. "Water-type found mostly in the Seafoam Islands, between Fuchsia City and Cinnabar Island."

Lilly's trainer rolled his eyes in exasperation. "It's not just about cuteness, Hanna. Pikachu are at least as rare as your precious Seel. More importantly, either Lilly or Ethan could zap him into submission with a good clean Thundershock." ("Well played, sir," Natalia whispered, fistbumping him.)

"Well, it's great to see you getting along with us," a well-dressed man on a sofa smiled at Natalia. "I'm the Chairman, and I raise over a hundred Pokémon!" Ignoring her "Overkill," he went off on a long, directionless spiel about his "favorite Rapidash." She and Ethan almost fell asleep listening to him.

"…Dang it. I talked your ear off, didn't I?" he said when he noticed their faces. "I do that a lot when it comes to my Pokémon. Here, take this Bike Shop voucher as an apology." That woke her up quickly. "Are you sure you don't need it, sir?" she asked.

"Yes. My Fearow can fly me wherever I want to go, and I was never any good at cycling anyway," he assured her. "The Bike Shop is over in Cerulean City, in case you didn't know. Have fun cycling!"

Before she followed his advice, she stocked up at the Poké Mart. To her surprise, the Vermilion City branch didn't stock regular Potions or Burn Heals. Also, she went fishing in Route 6's pond, with the same result. "Stupid Magikarp aren't even worth the 14 Exp. Points Ethan got from that," she muttered angrily, stomping her way through the route and part of the Underground Path. Her mood lightened a touch when Julian and Jenna leveled up from fighting an Oddish on the way.


End file.
